PennDOT, CSX agree to help with flooding problem along Dawson railroad tracks
DAWSON – Borough council members say they are concerned that a dangerous situation along the CSX railroad tracks in the borough could cause a serious accident or derailment. However, council members Donna Martin and John Nudo said they may have gotten some good news from CSX and PennDOT officials this week concerning the ongoing flooding problem on Route 819 (Railroad Street).
“We have been talking and talking and talking to PennDOT officials and have been virtually ignored by CSX officials for years concerning this problem,” said Nudo. “Then all of a sudden last week we finally got some answers.”
Nudo said CSX and PennDOT officials visited the borough last week and said that they were willing to work with borough officials to come up with a solution.
The problem, according to Nudo and Martin, is that ballast (rocks) falling from the CSX railroad tracks drop down through a grate owned by PennDOT and clog a drainage pipe that runs under the railroad tracks.
Another problem is that PennDOT is not allowed to work on CSX property and CSX owns the right of way surrounding the railroad tracks.
Nudo said that, although he’s not an engineer, he thinks the drainage pipe that runs under the tracks might have been crushed by the weight of trains passing quickly through the borough.
“If the pipe is crushed, then the tracks could cave in from erosion,” said Nudo. “Then we could have a serious train derailment in the borough.”
Nudo said although a PennDOT grate is at the opening of the drainage pipe, rocks and debris fall through it, causing water to back up onto the street during heavy downpours. The Dawson Fire Department has to close off the road and pump the water out of the drainage ditch, Nudo added.
“It’s scary when you see water that high,” said Martin. “Plus, the fire company has more important things to do than simply wait for it to rain so they can be on call to pump the water out of a ditch. We need to get this problem fixed, and we need to get it fixed now.”
Nudo said Glenn Fullem, PennDOT senior highway designer who manages the federal rail highway grade crossing, suggested that the borough clean the ballast out of the pipe this week.
“We did what he asked but that will not solve the problem,” said Nudo. “The problem needs to be fixed, and it isn’t fixed because the rocks and the debris are going to fall back into the grate and clog the pipe again.”
Martin said a couple of weeks ago the water rose to within three inches of the front door of a Railroad Street pizza shop.
“When we have a heavy downpour the rain doesn’t have anywhere to go so the water builds up and floods the street,” said Martin.
Nudo said his fear is that the water is going to cause a serious automobile or train accident.
“When the rain comes down that fast, the road has to be closed off because the water is too deep for traffic to drive through,” said Nudo. “Additionally, if the pipe under the road is unstable, the tracks could cave in and cause a real train catastrophe, such as a derailment. That’s what really concerns me.”
Nudo said trains and automobiles travel through the borough at a high rate of speed on normal days.
“It’s bad enough that we have to put up with people flying through here, but now with this problem we’re asking for it,” said Nudo.
Nudo said the original problem surfaced about eight years ago.
“We had meeting after meeting about this problem,” said Walter Rabapin of PennDOT, “but there was nothing PennDOT could do about it because the problem is on CSX property.”
Fullem said that after he and the PennDOT chief of survey met with Nudo, he requested that PennDOT’s bridge inspection people look at the concrete arch under the highway to see determine its condition. Fullem said PennDOT would not be able to do anything about the problem until they get the information from that review, which he said was done Friday.
“After we get the information, then we will have to get all of the parties together and formulate some kind of a plan,” said Fullem. “We know or suspect that the ballast is what’s causing the flooding, because the existing pipe can’t function the way it was designed to.”
Fullem said even though Railroad Street is a state route, laws and regulations determine what PennDOT can be involved in as far as expenses are concerned.
“Even though it’s a state route, we are only responsible for the roadway structure, so we have to work within those constraints,” he said.
Fullem said he understands the borough’s concerns but it could be a couple of months before anything gets done.