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.
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