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Pleasant Township trestle repairs move along
(by Dedra Cordle, Staff Writer - February 24, 2010)
The ongoing situation regarding the railroad trestle on Denton Road may soon come to its conclusion.
At the Feb. 23 Pleasant Township Board of Trustees meeting, Chairman Keith Goldhardt announced the road, which has been closed since December after it was deemed too unsafe for heavy traffic use, could be open by May.
Goldhardt said he recently spoke to the township's legal council who informed the trustees that RailAmerica, which leases the property from CSX Transport, would be putting the trestle's repairs into their 2010 budget. Goldhardt added this is due in large part to CSX receiving approximately $82 million in federal stimulus funds to repair damaged roads and bridges.
"I'm just glad to report that it's going to get fixed for us," he said.
Goldhardt believes, if all goes according to plan, repairs on the deteriorating trestle could begin at the beginning of April.
It was in April of 2009 when the Pleasant Township Road Department first began monitoring the condition of the railroad trestle, which road superintendent Jeff Karn described as in bad shape with pieces of concrete falling off the track and landing onto the street below.
Recently, the board of trustees threatened legal action if RailAmerica did not pay for the repairs to the damaged trestle.
In other news
•Pleasant Township fire chief Jay Noojin reported that ice did thousands of dollars worth of damage to the fire station last Saturday.
Noojin said falling ice was to blame for pulling down the communications tower for their radios, and standing ice was to blame for damage to the fire station's gutters. He estimated the new communications tower would cost $14,500 to replace, but believes their insurance company will all of the costs expect the cost of labor.
He said the station is currently running 800 radios and would "be okay until we get the new tower."
•The township's Web site www.pleasanttownship.com is up and running.
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