Supervisors negotiate bridge responsibilities with BNSF

The Clarke County Board of Supervisors has been in conversation with BNSF regarding a bridge that is currently shut down west of Murray. The BNSF railroad is wanting the county to pay for maintenance of the bridge after the initial repairs are made. The supervisors have made it clear to BNSF that the bridge cannot be shut down for very long.

“I’ve voiced my opinion on it and we three have talked about it a little bit but it’s in their court right now with what they want to do,” said Supervisor Austin Taylor. “I’ve emailed the ones who oversee regulations for the railroad and I have not received an email back from them yet.”

“We’re up in the air yet. All we know is we’ve met with them, they’ve closed it [the bridge] and we’ve expressed to them that we don’t want it closed long term,” said Supervisor Dean Robins.

“I don’t think it’s a benefit to the county to take over the railroad bridge because long term you’re paying more money than they’re paying up front,” said Taylor.