By Railfan & Railroad Staff
The Town of Perryville, Maryland, the Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association and AmeriStarRail have all came out against a plan by Amtrak to demolish bridge piers in the Susquehanna River that date back to the Civil War. The demolition of 10 piers built in the 1860s is part of an effort by Amtrak to build a new bridge for the Northeast Corridor.
However, as opponents of the demolition note, the old piers are not in the way of the proposed bridge.
“There is no good reason or purpose for demolition of these railroad bridge piers. An environmental assessment explains that these piers should be preserved, not destroyed,” writes Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association Executive Director Ted Evegeniadis. “Improvements should rather be made to keep the historical significance of these piers intact. These piers have been used as colonial water bird nesting areas as noted by the Lower Susquehanna’s historic populations. Amtrak’s presumed authority for demolition and the license they received should be revoked and any project plans should be scrapped immediately.”
The bridge was once part of the route of the Underground Railroad for people escaping slavery in the South. As such, local officials said the bridge piers should be saved. That original bridge, built for the Philadelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore Railroad, was later replaced in 1906 by the current bridge that will itself be replaced in the coming years.
In response, Amtrak officials gave the following statement to Railfan & Railroad: “The Susquehanna River Bridge Replacement Project is fully funded and will soon begin early construction work to advance this critical upgrade along America’s busiest rail corridor. The existing bridge – which turns 118 years old at the end of this month – has reached the end of its useful life. It will be replaced with a modern structure that allows for high-speed travel up to 160 mph, while also improving operations for MARC commuter and freight services. The rigorous four-year environmental study conducted by the Federal Railroad Administration and Maryland Department of Transportation – and supported by Amtrak – included extensive stakeholder outreach and consideration of 25 different alternatives. FRA, MDOT, and Amtrak already went through a comprehensive consultation process in accordance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, in which the Town of Perryville was a Section 106 Concurring Party. As part of this process, the Maryland Historical Trust confirmed that the remnant bridge piers are not historic. This project – and the more than 12 million annual rail passengers who rely on it for their travel between each city and town along the Northeast Corridor – cannot wait.”
Updated May 14 with comment from Amtrak.
