The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is still determining what caused the collapse of a bridge in downtown Syracuse, New York, but the situation prompted U.S. Rep. John Katko (R-NY) to question the administration’s maintenance.
“We are extremely lucky that yesterday’s railroad bridge collapse did not injure any pedestrians or drivers traveling through this heavily trafficked section of downtown Syracuse,” Katko said. “As my office has worked over the past 24 hours with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to assist in determining the cause and damage from yesterday’s collapse, a number of questions have arisen about the overall maintenance and care of this structure, and similarly-aged bridges and railways throughout NY-24. As such, I’ve called on the FRA to address these concerns. There’s no question that we must invest in our region’s aging infrastructure, and yesterday’s collapse makes clear that we must do more to keep travelers and pedestrians safe.”
In a letter to FRA Administrator Ronald Batory, Katko signaled his concerns over apparent lack of maintenance and inspections involved in the collapsed bridge. Looking to head off further disasters at the pass, he questioned when the bridge was last inspected, how bridges are randomly chosen for inspection, how many inspectors the FRA has on staff, what actions are taken if a bridge is, in fact, found to be structurally unsound, and what constraints the FRA faces in making sure deficient bridges are inspected.
The elevated tracks through Syracuse remain unusable at this time. As such, trains are being rerouted to tracks operated by CSX Transportation and Norfolk South Railway until the path is cleared for use again. A bridge inspection and report is underway detailing the current state of both the railway track and the bridge.