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Station issue studied but solutions, money elusive
VRE train station repairs to start during spring or summer of 2009
Date published: 3/4/2008
By KELLY HANNON The downtown Fredericksburg train station is safe for trains, according to the Virginia Railway Express, but the elevated, concrete structure needs an overhaul. "It's pretty ratty," said Fredericksburg City Councilman Marvin Dixon, a member of VRE's Operations Board. Before her death, Congresswoman Jo Ann Davis secured $2.5 million to improve the station, which was built in 1910 and is now owned by CSX Corp. of Jacksonville, Fla. An engineering firm hired by VRE with $50,000 of the federal money has pinpointed needed repairs, and work will begin in spring or summer of 2009. The project still needs to be designed, and the construction work must go through a bidding process. The station has multiple overpasses, and connects to a railroad bridge over the Rappahannock River. The overpasses cross Sophia, Caroline, Princess Anne and Charles streets. The structure was built like a viaduct, with the ballast and train tracks laid into it, said Dale Zehner, VRE's chief executive officer. There is one central draining point for water. Over the years, the drainage system has become clogged, Zehner said. Trapped water freezes and thaws, damaging the concrete. Pieces of it have fallen from the overpasses on to city streets and sidewalks. Leaking water also has damaged walkways below. A former city councilman once mailed a fallen chunk of concrete to CSX headquarters, warning that pedestrians could be injured by falling debris. "Water is the worst enemy," said Mark Roeber, VRE manager of government relations and public affairs. "It causes chipping and cracking because of the pressure it puts on the physical structure, especially with its age." The city of Fredericksburg has paid for cosmetic improvements to the station--painting, fixing broken windows, repairing concrete as best it could, and cleaning out some "dingy and smelly" areas, Dixon said. The city does not own the station, but its condition is important to Fredericksburg, Dixon said. "It's one of the city gateways," Dixon said. The upcoming station work should repair the chipping and falling concrete problem, but it will not solve the station's future needs. Long-term repairs to the station and overpasses could cost $3 million to $6 million, Zehner estimated last week at a public hearing in Stafford County. He hopes to lobby for state and federal funding for that work, matched by CSX. Amtrak, CSX, VRE and Fredericksburg must agree on future improvements, Roeber said. "We wouldn't want anybody to think this cures everything," Roeber said. " We're not going to solve the problem until all of us get together and say, 'We are going to partner together and make long-term improvements and investments to make it the best it can be.'" Kelly Hannon: 540/374-5436
Date published: 3/4/2008
If I was CSX
(posted by
winwood
, Mar. 4, 2008 9:24 am)
I wouldn't pay for refurbishing. CSX doesn't use the station, just drives it's trains through it. I don't think train safety is an issue as much as it is monumental smelly, dirty, eyesore. The station just symbolizes what's happening across the country; crumbling, inefficient transportation infrastructure that results in higher costs of consumer goods.
If CSX owns it , then.....
(posted by
biosco
, Mar. 4, 2008 8:31 am)
why doesn't CSX pay for the repairs? Why do the taxpayers have to subsidize the multi-billion dollar CSX? Who's campaign did CSX contribute to for that kind of sweetheart deal? If the taxpayers are paying for it , then the taxpayers should own it. I am sure the taxpayers would take better care of it than CSX does.....Think about it.......
That train station
(posted by
winwood
, Mar. 4, 2008 8:29 am)
is an embarrassment that you would expect to find in some third world country like Somalia. I suppose its just another case where taxes trumps quality of life.
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