District 1 Councilman Bobby Wilson and District 6 Councilman R. Daniel Lavelle give readers an update on the status of the settlement between Norfolk Southern Rail Company and community groups in the Northside.

Hello everyone, 

This month, we would like to update our constituents and neighborhoods on the Northside on the status of the settlement from the mediation between Norfolk Southern Rail Company and Northside community groups. 

We want to start by thanking the Northside Leadership Conference (NSLC), Rail Pollution Protection Pittsburgh (RP3), and the Manchester Citizens Corporation (MCC) for coming together and fighting to ensure that our communities’ concerns were heard in Norfolk Southern’s plan to replace the West North Avenue and Pennsylvania Avenue bridges to accommodate double-stacked trains. Across the United States, it is rare for local community groups to successfully negotiate with a powerful railroad company in order to deliver real wins for neighborhoods and residents. As a result of their united and staunch negotiation, in return for being able to replace these two bridges to accommodate double-stacked trains, Norfolk Southern committed to restoring the pedestrian bridge that once connected the North and West Commons over the railroad tracks, from Lake Elizabeth to the playground and tennis courts. The railroad also agreed to establish and seed the Northside Community Enhancement Fund as part of the settlement. 

Norfolk Southern’s push to raise the West North Avenue Bridge to accommodate double-stacked trains dates all the way back to 2006. Per state law, bridges above railroad tracks used by freight train cars must provide a minimum clearance of 22 feet.  That year, the City of Pittsburgh was ordered by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) to raise the West North Avenue Bridge to a height of 22 feet within three years. The City refused to do so. Then, in 2017, Norfolk Southern was awarded a $20 million state grant to replace fourteen railway bridges across the state. A year later, Norfolk Southern forced the issue by requesting permission from the PUC to rehabilitate and raise the West North Avenue Bridge so that it could run double-stacked trains on this line. In response, the City and the three community groups mentioned above challenged this request at the PUC because of our concerns about the safety, air pollution, and noise pollution impacts of allowing double-stacked trains to run through the Northside. In late 2019, all four parties agreed to negotiate and resolve this dispute through mediation. 

After two years of negotiations, the mediator recently announced a settlement. This settlement will permit Norfolk Southern to replace and raise the West North Avenue Bridge by 2 feet, 6 inches and the Pennsylvania Avenue Bridge by 2 feet, 9 inches. Raising these bridges by these heights will allow a clearance of at least 22 feet for Norfolk Southern’s double-stacked train cars to pass through. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) has rated the West North Avenue Bridge as being in “poor” condition and the Pennsylvania Avenue Bridge as being in “fair” condition. Norfolk Southern’s replacement of both these bridges on the Northside will be funded by the $20 million state grant it received in 2017. As a result of the mediation, Norfolk Southern will also lower the track bed under the Columbus Avenue Bridge by 18 inches and replace the Merchant Street Bridge at the same level. All of this bridge work will go through a series of public meetings on the Northside in the next few years so that residents can share their input on the designs of the new replacement bridges and the impacts of raising them. 

At present, the settlement from the mediation is pending before Pittsburgh City Council and must be approved by Mayor Ed Gainey. In partnership with the Office of the Mayor, we are planning a public meeting on the Northside this month prior to voting on the pending Council resolution so that residents can come together to discuss this settlement between Norfolk Southern and Northside community groups. Please follow us on social media to learn the date and time of this public meeting. In the meantime, if you have any questions or concerns, please contact our offices via phone or email or find us on Facebook or Twitter to share your thoughts.

BOBBY WILSON

COUNCILMAN, DISTRICT 1

412-255-2135

District1@pittsburghpa.gov

R. DANIEL LAVELLE

COUNCILMAN, DISTRICT 6

412-255-2134

District6@pittsburghpa.gov