Elyria approves rail bridge removal despite plea from railway association

ELYRIA — City Council has voted to approve a state plan to demolish an abandoned railroad bridge in the city, despite pleas from a local railway preservation group to save it.During its regular meeting Monday, Council voted unanimously to allow Mayor Kevin Brubaker to enter into an agreement with the Ohio Department of Transportation for the removal of the rail bridge over state Route 57 in the city, just north of Beechwood Drive and to the south of state Route 254. The bridge has been abandoned for decades and City Engineer John Schneider told Council that it has a number of holes in its deck. He said that ODOT would remove the bridge at no cost to the city. Council approved the agreement over the objections of resident Marc Chappo, president of the Lake Shore Railway Association. The association is a nonprofit that focuses on buying and preserving sections of the historic Lorain and West Virginia Railway, on which it runs a limited train service. Chappo told Council that his organization had made an offer to purchase the section of the track containing the long-abandoned bridge from Norfolk Southern. "We've had an offer on that property with Norfolk Southern for several years," Chappo said Monday. "I know they're busy with mergers so they haven't responded. What we are really concerned about is that we don't own that part of the corridor yet, but it is part of our plan to go to Sheffield. … What we are asking is that we'd like to see some data prior to this ordinance being passed because we haven't been given any by ODOT or anything like that and we are definitely an interested party."Lake Shore plans to refurbish the old Lorain & West Virginia Rail and run it to its termination point in Sheffield, and Chappo said the failure to secure the bridge over Route 57 would make that prospect much more difficult and costly.The track has been repaired and is operational from its terminal in Wellington to Hughes Road in Pittsfield Township — a distance of just over 6 miles — according to the Lake Shore Railway website. The association runs seasonal sightseeing and other recreational trips on the reopened sections.Schneider said that he was open to speaking with Chappo about the railway's proposal, but he maintained that he felt the ODOT contract would likely be the best option for the city."This is a standalone project, this is something that they (ODOT) haven't done in the past, is fund these type of things," Schneider said. "It is the orphan rail crossing program and this is the first time, and possibly the last time, that this will be funded according to (ODOT). So if we miss this opportunity, I don't know who will pay for it in the future if the bridge ever becomes a problematic issue."The engineer said he had not personally inspected the bridge yet, but he thought that due to its age it was very possible it would deteriorate further in the future and the city would be stuck footing the bill to remove it.Contact Owen MacMillan at omacmillan@chroniclet.com.