Commonly known as Garvey Bridge, the overpass goes over the railroad tracks in Elsmere. The street intersects with U.S. 42 — with dozens of businesses, a school and residential complexes.
But when weight restrictions changed due to a state transportation structural analysis, the Elsmere fire department lost their fastest route to some parts of the town, including some with a historically high number of emergency calls.
“There's been a significant number of calls that we've not been able to cross over that bridge,” Fire Chief Paul LaFontaine said.
Initially, the city said the responsibility for maintaining the bridge is on Norfolk Southern Railway. But Elsmere city officials announced Friday that now, they aren’t sure.
In a statement, they said they are working with Norfolk Southern to determine who is able to make repairs to the bridge.
“Recently, Norfolk Southern has referenced historical records suggesting that ownership and long-term maintenance obligations may instead rest with the City of Elsmere,” the statement read. “At this time, no legal documentation has been provided establishing ownership, responsibility, or governing authority on the part of the City, nor has any formal transfer of ownership been validated.”
Norfolk Southern Railway did not return a request for comment by Friday afternoon.
‘I'm in the business of providing immediate reaction’
While officials sort out who is responsible for repairs, the Elsmere fire department trucks still can’t go over the bridge. LaFontaine hopes no one loses their life or their home in a fire before then.
“I've said the time for talking is past,” he said. “We're done with that. We need some immediate action to get this problem taken care of.”
According to data from 2025, nearly 200 calls came from places like the city building, an elementary school and a senior apartment complex. The fastest route to all of them is over the Garvey Avenue bridge.
“The only other way to get on that side of the railroad tracks would be to go out of here, go block down, and then cut across and go over to Main Street, where there is a gated rail road crossing,” LaFontaine said.
Using his car, he timed the drive to the location that receives a lot of calls: a senior apartment complex on the other side of the Garvey bridge. First, he drove the bridge like they used to, then he drove through an alternative route. The latter took a minute and a half longer, but could take more than five minutes if a train is blocking a nearby railroad crossing.
LaFontaine says in an emergency, those delays make a big difference.
“Every second counts,” LaFontaine said. “If somebody's not breathing or someone doesn't have a heartbeat. That's a delay. If this building's on fire, then you know every minute that fire gets bigger and bigger and bigger.”
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