Niles suing railroad over use of bridge

Saturday, August 26, 2006 By ED RUNYAN VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF WARREN — Niles has sued Ohio Central Railroad System, seeking a ruling in a dispute that is likely to delay the city's efforts to build its portion of the Great Ohio Lake-To-River Greenway bike trail for at least a year. The lawsuit filed in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court asks for a declaratory judgment against the railroad — stating that the railroad does not own an easement or any other interest in a bridge over the Mahoning River. The case is assigned to Judge Peter Kontos. Mark Hess, Niles city engineer, said negotiations with Ohio Central have been ongoing since March to try to certify the right of way required to start construction. When negotiations appeared to be bogged down, the city decided to file the suit. The city was initially to start construction in 2006, but it received permission from the Federal Highway Administration to delay construction until 2007 so that negotiations can be completed. The city is also still negotiating with Norfolk-Southern for another former rail corridor needed for the project, Hess said. The city purchased the bridge and abandoned corridor from Consolidated Rail Corp. in 1998. Later, the city and the Ohio Central Railroad System entered into a memorandum of understanding so that Ohio Central could use the land to create a route to an electric generating plant near the intersection of Belmont Avenue and McKees Lane in Weathersfield Township, the suit says. What's being disputed Since then, controversies have arisen as to whether the memorandum of understanding created an easement in favor of Ohio Central for use of the bridge, the suit says. It adds that the memorandum of understanding was "nothing more than a preliminary understanding and that any final agreement specifying the location and granting of an easement was subject to approval by Niles City Council." Hess said the city plans to use the two rail corridors to extend the bike trail from the Trumbull County line in Weathersfield to a trailhead at Robbins Avenue and State Street near downtown Niles. The highway administration is providing $2.4 million for the 4.5-mile Niles portion of the trail, Hess said. Included in the project is a new bridge over Mosquito Creek near the proposed trailhead. Construction is expected to take a year, he added. County officials have proposed a phase of the bike trail that would run from the south end of Warren to the trailhead area and have applied for funding for it. The first two phases of the Greenway Trail are being used. With the exception of a 6-mile gap between Orwell and Rock Creek, the Greenway has been continuously paved from Champion Street to West 52nd Street in Ashtabula. Other sections have been paved in Mahoning and Columbiana counties, and plans call for it to extend from Lake Erie to the Ohio River. runyan@vindy.com