The much-reviled
Saybrook-Kenyon Bypass is dead
By
Will Collette
Read the Record
of Decision by CLICKING
HERE.
When
AMTRAK unveiled the details for creating a long, new stretch of rail through
Eastern Connecticut and southwestern Rhode Island, Sen. Richard Blumenthal
(D-CT) pronounced the plan “dead on arrival.”
The
new route would run from Old Saybrook in Connecticut to Kenyon, RI and the
Kingston train station as part of Amtrak's much needed rail modernization
program. But the idea of this route was fatally flawed as it endangered
everything from the Mystic Aquarium to nature preserves, historic and cultural
sites, family farms and lots of homes.
It
seemed that no one along the proposed route liked it. Panic and confusion
roiled communities from Old Lyme to Charlestown.
But
that can stop now because the Federal Rail Administration, Amtrak's boss,
announced yesterday that the Bypass has been dropped from the final
plan.
Instead,
AMTRAK will study the feasibility of improving the existing rail bed to make it
safer and faster. Though that is not good news for neighbors of the existing
bed, it is pretty much what most Charlestown opponents said they wanted. I rate the odds of this "study," if it ever happens, reviving the Bypass as less than zero.
From
the beginning of the AMTRAK flap last December, my own opinion pretty much echoed Sen.
Blumenthal’s, holding to the belief there was no way this project would get
approval or funding from either the Trump regime or the conservative Republican
controlled Congress.
In
fact, the fate of AMTRAK as a system is in doubt as current budget plans show massive budget cuts that would make even basic maintenance of existing lines
difficult, never mind beginning any new construction. The budget situation is so bad that AMTRAK is considering loading up train cars with more seats in a move some see as making trains as uncomfortable as flying. Except longer.
There
simply is no money to pay for the $120-150 billion 25-year project. Despite
that fact, AMTRAK has been continuing to plan and design this project in a
manner reported
by the Connecticut Post to be “agnostic to funding.”
Congressional
Republicans have never liked the idea of government-owned railroads going back
decades to the time when the federals took over bankrupt rail companies to prevent a collapse of our rail infrastructure.
Now,
with disciples of Ayn Rand like House Speaker Paul Ryan in control, it seems
inevitable they will try to sell off all or major chunks of the federal rail
system. The profitable Northeast Corridor (NEC) could be among the first to go.
I
even speculated that Trump might favor selling off NEC to his kids for a new
Trump Rail, but Russiagate and the recent bombshell revelations about Donald “Fredo”
Trump, Jr.’s attempts to collude with the Russian government, I doubt we’ll
ever see a Trump Rail.
However,
let’s bear in mind that AMTRAK privatization would change the equation for the
NEC since this Congress would certainly want to assist the private owners in
any way they can. But on the very one list of things to worry about, this worry
belongs near the bottom.
Charlestown
finally did its part to add to the chorus of dissent against the Saybrook
Kenyon Bypass after kvetching about lack of notice (though, in fact, former Town Council Boss Tom Gentz had a copy of the plan for months but claimed he didn’t have time to read it).
Here
is the official summary of local comments that appear in Section 6 (page 36-38)
of the FRA’s Record
of Decision:
6.1.5
Charlestown/Richmond Area (RI)
Many comments
were received from the Charlestown, RI, area, generally opposing the Old
Saybrook-Kenyon new segment due to environmental, economic, and community
impacts.
Town of
Charlestown adopted a resolution opposing the Old Saybrook-Kenyon new segment,
citing many of the same concerns raised in comments submitted by residents and
groups in the area.
Factors cited by
commenters from this area in opposing the Old Saybrook-Kenyon new segment
included the following:
> Concerns
about a lack of direct engagement with Charlestown despite major impacts on
Charlestown
> Potential
impacts to critical aquifers that supply Charlestown water supply
> Potential
construction issues because the town sits on glacial moraine
> Potential
for direct and indirect impacts to individual homes and to family-owned farms,
including Stoney Hill Farm
> Potential
impacts to historic properties, including the following: − Amos Green Farm and
other farms and protected agricultural land
− Bradford
Historic District
− Columbia
Heights Historic District
− Kenyon
Historic District
− Shannock
Village Historic District
− East Greenwich
Historic District
− Areas
sensitive for archaeological resources
> Impacts to
natural resources and protected areas, including the following:
− Frances Carter
Preserve
− The Riverwood
Preserve
− The Hidden
Meadows Open Space, the Burlingame Estates Open Space, the Kings Factory Rd.
and the Botka Woods Open Space
− Conservation
easements owned by Charlestown and the Narragansett Tribe
− Shannock Road,
a State Scenic Road
− Biscuit City
Fishing Area
− The Pawcatuck
and Wood-Pawcatuck Rivers, currently nominated for designation as Wild and
Scenic Rivers
− The Great
Thicket Wildlife Refuge and land currently under consideration to be added to
the refuge
> Magnitude
of travel-time savings between New York City and Boston is too small to justify
the impacts of the new segment
> Potential
loss of property value and difficulty of selling and financing of existing
homes, due to concerns about use of eminent domain
> Potential
impacts on private wells near Charlestown
> Impacts on
quality of life
> Potential
to disturb area contaminated by radioactive spill at United Nuclear
Based on these
concerns, the commenters from this area strongly urged the FRA to remove the
Old Saybrook-Kenyon new segment from the ROD and improve the existing NEC.