Troubled Bridges

At least two Amtrak owned bridges; one in Coatesville over 11th Avenue and one in Caln Township over S. Caln Road have had very large pieces of stone fall to the roadway under them. There were no vehicles or pedestrians under the bridges at the time.

There are four more bridges in Coatesville.

There is a bridge over N. Chester Avenue.

There is a bridge over 4th Avenue.

The bridge over 3rd Avenue is associated with the Amtrak Passenger Station in Coatesville.

The long bridge over 1st Avenue (Route 82) is not only over the roadway but over the proposed “Brandywine Riverwalk” in Coatesville and associated development.

The aging bridges are not only a danger to the trains. They are also a danger to vehicles and pedestrians under them.

The Philadelphia Inquirer is doing very good investigative reporting of the problem:

Amtrak bridges troubled
Officials say the region's spans are safe, but they need hundreds of millions in repairs. An Inquirer lawsuit threat uncovered the data.
By Paul Nussbaum
Inquirer Staff Writer
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/homepage/20090920_Amtrak_bridges_troubled.html?nlid=2590807