Pittsburgh and five other municipalities from southwestern Pennsylvania appear to have not requested inspection reports on local rail infrastructure, after leaders promised they’d do so as part of a wave of increased scrutiny following the derailment earlier this year of a Norfolk Southern train just over the Ohio border.
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey said in March that he’d brought together a coalition of his fellow mayors from East Pittsburgh, Beaver Falls, Farrell, Homestead and Rankin to request a simplified version of bridge inspection reports from railroads through a provision of federal law. The reports are required to include a “general statement” on a bridge’s condition.
“This critical information will help us gain a clear picture of the state of rail infrastructure so we can safeguard our communities and hold the railroad companies accountable for any repairs that may need to be made,” read a joint statement signed by the mayors of the six municipalities.
The latest inspection details on the tens of thousands of railroad bridges crisscrossing the country — including the 368 in Allegheny County, the most of any county in Pennsylvania — are privately held in the owning railroads’ offices. Information on most other bridges, including all over 20 feet that carry roads, are included in the easily accessible National Bridge Inventory.
The Union Progress submitted records requests to each of the six municipalities, seeking copies of the letters asking for bridge inspection reports, as well as any response sent by the railroads. Pittsburgh, Beaver Falls, Rankin and Farrell all said no such documents exist. Homestead and East Pittsburgh did not respond.
Gainey spokesperson Olga George told the Union Progress that the city is “still working” to request the inspection reports and unable to specify when they will be available.
Pittsburgh City Council backed the mayor’s move, unanimously passing a will of council penned by Councilor Erika Strassburger, D-Squirrel Hill. Her office did not respond to a request for comment.
The 182 railroad bridges in Pittsburgh are split among seven owners, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics: Norfolk Southern, Allegheny Valley, Wheeling & Lake Erie, Canadian National, CSX, Pittsburgh & Ohio Central, and Pittsburgh Regional Transit. Two bridges are listed with unknown owners.
Jon, a copy editor and reporter at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, is currently on strike and working as a co-editor of the Pittsburgh Union Progress. Reach him at jmoss@unionprogress.com.
