KINGWOOD — The West Virginia Division of Highways is ready to take ownership of the CSX bridge in Terra Alta if the transportation company contributes $1 million towards the project.
“Our upper management is ready to take on the bridge,” said Sarah Runyon, assistant director of engineering/operations for the DOH. “… Part of doing that, we’ll have to upgrade Bridge Street on both ends.”
Ownership of the bridge, which has been closed for several years and is needed to cross the road when CSX’s trains pass by, has been a point of contention in moving forward with repairing or replacing the bridge.
CSX does not want to own the bridge and its representative, Randy Marcus, reiterated that point at a meeting between the company, the town of Terra Alta, the DOH, and the Preston County Commission, on Tuesday. A representative from the Governor’s Office also attended.
Ownership “is not something that we’re interested in doing,” Marcus said. It’s a public road, serves a public purpose and should be maintained by a public entity.
When the DOH asked CSX for $1M in August, the estimate for the project was about $3.1 million, which would have made the CSX’s contribution about 32%. However, the company only wants to contribute 20%, which is the traditional local match in a federal bridge program.
Runyon explained the $3.1 million estimate was only the construction cost. The new estimate of $4.5 to $5 million includes upgrading the street, designing the bridge, acquiring right of ways, moving utilities and railroad coordination.
If the project topped out at $5 million, then a $1 million contribution would be 20%. Runyon said the DOH considers the $1 million to be a 22% contribution because the project will likely come in a bit under that.
Marcus said he can’t make commitments, and he’s sure there are technical and financial details that need to be sorted, but he will update the company. County Administrator Kathy Mace asked for an update on the project through email by Nov. 8.
Since the last meeting, it was discovered the cost to repair the current bridge is higher than what would make sense to spend on it, Marcus said. CSX agreed to investigate the potential for repairs to bring the bridge into operation even on a temporary basis.
However, he said the cost quickly ran into the hundreds of thousands and CSX was thinking more of a tens of thousands “band-aid.”
Terra Alta Mayor James “Monk” Tasker suggested some money could be saved by building a one lane bridge which would suit his town’s needs.
However, Runyon said the DOH has a general policy against replacing single lane bridges because with growth by the end of its lifecycle it will have outlived its usefulness.
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