Covington KY vs. CSX

[louisnash]

Hey all,
This was in the KY Post on Thursday. This debate between the two has been going on for quite some time now. Covington was even threatening to shut down the bridge until repairs were made. Thought everyone would like to see this.

Brian (KY)


Covington going after CSX
City board will attempt to collect $5,000 fine
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By Jeanne Houck
Post staff reporter

Covington's Code Enforcement Board threw down the gauntlet Wednesday by voting to initiate efforts to collect on a $5,000 fine it had earlier suspended against CSX Transportation for violating the city's nuisance code at its deteriorating bridge at East 15th and Wheeler Streets.
Mayor Butch Callery praised the board afterward for standing up to CSX, which he said is causing trouble in cities nationwide.

"It's a good first step," he said.

Callery said the ruling puts the railroad on notice that it cannot run over smaller cities and could well result in a court decision that would help other municipalities fight the company.

CSX filed an appeal in Kenton District Court after the Code Enforcement Board concluded in July that the railroad had violated the city code because it would not address the bridge's peeling paint and rust. The bridge has not been painted for at least 30 years.

But the fine the board levied was put on hold until Wednesday's hearing to give CSX time to negotiate an agreement with the city. That didn't happen.

CSX lawyer Rod Payne told the board Wednesday that the company admits the bridge looks bad. But he said there is no evidence that it is structurally unsound and that the railroad must reserve its maintenance funds for fixing dangerous bridges.

Payne presented the board with a copy of a letter dated Sept. 16 from Gordon Davids, a bridge engineer with the Federal Railroad Administration, which said the agency's Office of Safety Assurance and Compliance examined the 15th Street bridge Sept. 13 and found it sound.

"The presence of (rust) on the surface does not in itself affect the structural integrity of the bridge while sufficient steel remains for each (span) to carry its loads without developing excessive stresses," Davids wrote.

"The observation did not disclose any development of excessive stresses, which would normally be indicated by plastic deformation, growing cracks or loose fasteners."

Payne said it would cost millions of dollars to paint the bridge because its full length would have to be painted -- not just the section in question -- and that reaches into Campbell County.

"There's no doubt about it, it's an aesthetic eyesore," Payne said. But "Our money is best spent in efforts to try to protect the safety of the public."

Payne also argued that a federal law passed by Congress in 1995 prohibits cities from citing railroads the way Covington has cited CSX. But Elaine Hollis, a Covington code enforcement officer, said a state law gives cities authority to go after railroads.

If the federal law trumps that authority, Callery said, he would ask the Kentucky League of Cities to help him mount a national initiative to rescind the law.

The mayor estimated it would cost about $250,000 to paint the section of bridge Covington is concerned about.

He said CSX spent millions in the 1980s and 1990s shoring up railroad property such as the 12th Street Viaduct.

But he said relations soured about the time John Snow resigned in 2002 as CSX chairman to become President Bush's Secretary of the Treasury.

"It's been downhill since John Snow went to work for George Bush," Callery said.

Payne said the railroad wants to regain the city's goodwill.

He said a CSX representative met with Covington City Manager Greg Jarvis in October, offering to erect fences and more aggressively fight weeds and litter along CSX tracks across the city.




Publication Date: 11-11-2004

[JoeKoh]

Csx had to patch 2 viaducts here in defiance. but matt and I saw a dollar general truck that didnt make it under the clinton st viaduct. That one is solid iron and steel.
stay safe
Joe

[mudchicken]

(1) Covington, KY is accross the river from Cincinnati for those who don't know. The bridge in question is an approach bridge to the Ohio river bridge that goes to CUT.

(2) Covington has "just a few" bridges that it maintains that could stand some paint. Odd how cities will demand that others spend monies to paint bridges when they don't have to pay for it. Callous.

15-20 years ago CSX & NS repainted their nearby bridges over the Ohio River (L&N and SOU/CNO&TP respectively and there were complaints deluxe about the colors and paint overspray/splatter)...ya can't win!

[AntonioFP45]

Perhaps I'm being naive, but inspite of the lawsuits CSX has suffered over the years, (some justifiable, many not) CSX's revenues are still impressive. Most in the public see railroads as money generating giants, which of course is not realistically accurate.

I do know a well liked CSX manager (whose name I'll keep anonymous) that states that CSX is "extremely" inefficient in many operational and maintenance areas and winds up unnecessarily wasting hundreds of thousands of dollars. And these are areas that don't interfere with union agreements!

Seems that a number of "upper level" executives are quite territorial and have a rather arrogant attitude when managers give input on "common sense" efficiency. So this is part of the reason why money in specific budgets is "squeezed tight"! The money is actually available.

Would it not be possible for CSX to work it out with the state or federal government so that it could get a property TAX WRITE OFF for re-painting the bridge?

10-4!

[louisnash]

I may be thinking of another chairman of CSX, but I believe John Snow that is mentioned in that article was from the Greater Cincinnati (Cincinnati and Northern KY)area. The area I think he was from may have been Bellevue KY. Don't quote me on that. But I know for a fact there was a chairman that grew up in this area.
So that could be why the relations were good when he was in office.

Brian (KY)

[SALfan]

Sounds to me like the city government doesn't have enough useful work to occupy their time.

[BaltACD]

QUOTE: Originally posted by AntonioFP45

Would it not be possible for CSX to work it out with the state or federal government so that it could get a property TAX WRITE OFF for re-painting the bridge?

It is tough to get an equitable TAX WRITE OFF, when you have sufficient tax write offs so as not to pay Federal Income Taxes at present.. Railroads have to be more concerned with structural integrety of their structures than the cosmetic. Having driven through Covington, they have a lot of room to talk and complain....NOT.

[StillGrande]

Covington may be looking at this as an economic project for the city. You can bet that any contractor hired to paint the bridge would hire local labor, so the city government can say they are generating jobs and local income (not to mention the multiplier effects of $1 million into the local economy!).

[Anonymous]

It's amazing when you look at the same issue in my town..

Most of the bridges are steel reinforced concrete,...and the ones belonging to NS are kept in a fairly decent state of repair. Some of those have had MAJOR rebuttressing/ reinforcement done in the past several years, and reflect a "solid as a rock" impression when you look at them

The ones belonging to CSX are entirely the opposite...Major spauling, exposed, rusting re-bar everywhere, and many of the steel handrails along the pedestrian sidewalks gone, rusted off at the stumps...

And, you see pretty much the same thing, when you walk the rails "topside" CSX: neglected switches, rotted ties, ballast filled with dirt and mud,...rust everywhere.... NS: evidence of lubrication on the switches, new looking de-icers on most switches, decent to "new" looking ties, noticeably clean ballast, and freshly painted signal poles.... Most of it looks like it could have been put in new, within the last 5-15 years