Quote:
Originally Posted by 202_Cyclist
How are concerns about ths project ridiculous? I fully support freight rail but there have been several recent (and fatal explosions) involving the Bakken oil shipped via rail. There was recently a fire on one of the CSX trains here on the Virginia Ave tunnel. The construction will also create local congestion and disruption-- this isn't really debatable. It is entirely reasonable that neighbors-- including me-- want this project done safely.
JD Land had a post about the CSX tunnel this week: http://www.jdland.com/dc/index.cfm/3...unnel-Jan.-16/. |
The issues.
1. Rerouting. Has anybody on that site bothered to check a CSX route map? There is
literally no good reroute for trains coming from Tidewater into the Northeast. In fact, in 2001's
Howard Street Tunnel fire, CSX trains had to be rerouted via
Cleveland. In this environment, suggesting rerouting without providing a viable reroute path strains credulity.
2. Safety. I agree that residents need to be concerned about construction effects mitigation. In fact, I think
Concept 5 is the best approach, safety-wise, as it digs a new tunnel first and undercuts the old tunnel second, which results in a minimum of surface disruption.
3. Security. Lac-Mégantic was a terrible incident, yes, but also caused by a perfect storm of systemic failure. Key to this storm was the train being parked overnight online on a quieter secondary.
That will not happen with the Virginia Avenue Tunnel. First, the nearby Anacostia Yard offers an established overnight layover occasion. Second, the VAT lies along the CSX mainline, which has some of the highest traffic densities and train control in their system. None of this was present on the secondary route through Lac-Mégantic. In fact, CSX has implemented all of the crash avoidance in the area that could possibly be expected of any American railroad, because
they had to, to support their own activities.
4. Air Quality. Of course CSX has to cut down a number of trees to reach their own tunnel! So I do agree that a replanting program needs to pursued upon project completion.
5. Noise and Vibrations. These things are logarithmic in nature; the differential between current and proposed train weights, power, etc., are (to our perception) infinitesimally greater. Think about how decibels are defined. So mitigation for the new movements is actually far less than what someone thinking on linear scales would realize.
6. Accessibility. Keeping even temporary paths open for emergency vehicles is still necessary.
7. Transparency. The documentation available suggests that CSX has been no more or less transparent than other agencies undertaking projects of this scope.
8.
The map. This has the
My God! The Stupidity! moment in it. Of particular note is the
second map, which claims encroachments. Easement law quite clearly states that this is false as long as the tunnel remains under the extant Virginia Avenue easement, which it appears to do so. Further east, another issue was the distance from the tunnel face to Capper Seniors, where they felt 35' was too narrow.
This image, for comparison, shows us that this
is complete and utter bullshit. If a 35' clearance were left to the building lines on either side of the Howard Street Tunnel--
in Baltimore--the tunnel could not possibly exist.
This told me everything I needed to know about how much homework the site proprietors actually did--to wit, nowhere near enough. They didn't even bother to visit the next city over and check their infrastructural experience.
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Right off the bat they use demonizing language (see oppositions to the Purple Line, McMillan, and the proposal to relax the height act for further details):
The problem, as tends to happen with NIMBY groups, is that the stated concerns aren't the legitimate concerns.
Linear Mode
