U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin Statement on FRA Letter Regarding Milwaukee 5th Ward Rail Bridge

U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin released the following statement on a Federal Railroad Administration letter regarding the Milwaukee 5th Ward rail bridge:

“I called for an inspection of the bridge in July and I’m pleased that has happened. The Federal Railroad Administration has reviewed Canadian Pacific’s inspection reports and found the bridge satisfactory, however the fact remains that local government officials still do not have access to the inspection reports and they should.

“The FRA’s bridge inspection program needs reform to provide further transparency. That is why I fought for rail safety and transparency measures that were included in the bipartisan transportation bill which passed in the Senate over a month ago.

“We need to require railroads to furnish inspection reports to state and local officials upon request but Republicans in the House continue to stall the process of putting these reforms in place by not moving transportation legislation forward. In order for these critical oil train safety measures to be implemented, the House is going to have to act – like the Senate did over a month ago – and take bipartisan action on long-term transportation legislation that includes rail safety reforms that provide transparency.”