Statement from Senator Jim Tedisco on Glenville Maple Ave. Bridge Strike

“The urgent need for the state and federal governments to work together with our railway operators to better mitigate vehicle bridge strikes on low-hanging rail bridges in Glenville and elsewhere in New York State is a public safety issue I’ve been very outspoken about and warning the Administration and my colleagues for some time.” 

“Now it’s reached the point where someone crashed a tractor trailer into the Maple Avenue Bridge resulting in the driver receiving serious injuries and causing an enormous explosion that’s put the Town of Glenville in a state of emergency.  As serious as this was and the temporary inconvenience for residents, there by the grace of God that this incident didn’t become a major catastrophe with loss of life and property, particularly as a train was going by while the explosion occurred.”

“This must be a wake-up call for the state and federal government and railroad to stop pointing fingers about responsibility for the bridges and get serious and come to the table with realistic solutions to stop these strikes which are occurring at an alarming rate. We also must research and explore safety protocols for the transportation of hazardous materials and fuel like this to better prevent them from exploding when rollovers and collisions occur and legislation requiring the vehicles to carry commercial-grade GPS to direct them to the appropriate truck routes and not through local community roads.”