A look and update of NS-funded projects in EP
NS CEO Alan Shaw (right) talks with Steve Baird at the pool inside East Palestine City Park on March 29, 2023. Shaw announced plans to renovate the park following that visit. Phase 1 of the project is set to begin soon. (Photo by Stephanie Elverd)
New benches, two picnic tables, garbage receptacles and concrete pads have been installed at the East Palestine City Lake. (Photo by Stephanie Elverd)
Work on the Norfolk Southern Field Office is expected to be completed soon. (Photo by Stephanie Elverd)
Despite reports that construction of Norfolk Southern First Responder Training Center was expected to be completed or well under construction by the end of 2024, no work has begun at the site at Jasar Recycling facility located on Edgeworth Ave. (Photo by Stephanie Elverd)
NS CEO Alan Shaw (right) talks with Steve Baird at the pool inside East Palestine City Park on March 29, 2023. Shaw announced plans to renovate the park following that visit. Phase 1 of the project is set to begin soon. (Photo by Stephanie Elverd)
New benches, two picnic tables, garbage receptacles and concrete pads have been installed at the East Palestine City Lake. (Photo by Stephanie Elverd)
Work on the Norfolk Southern Field Office is expected to be completed soon. (Photo by Stephanie Elverd)
Despite reports that construction of Norfolk Southern First Responder Training Center was expected to be completed or well under construction by the end of 2024, no work has begun at the site at Jasar Recycling facility located on Edgeworth Ave. (Photo by Stephanie Elverd)
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EAST PALESTINE -- In the wake of last year's train derailment in East Palestine, Norfolk Southern announced plans to fund several projects in the village to help lead East Palestine past the derailment and into a phase of revitalization.
A year after the derailment, some of those projects are near completion, while others are yet to be started.
Train Depot
Norfolk Southern announced plans on March 22 to renovate and donate the historic train depot back to the village along with a $100,000 grant to "support the village's continued development of the space."
The depot was built in 1905 at the corner of Taggart and Market Streets by the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway, which was a major part of the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) system, extending the PRR west from Pittsburgh via Fort Wayne, Indiana, to Chicago, Illinois. That line eventually was passed to Penn Central Transportation in 1968 and Conrail in 1976. In 1998, following the breakup of Conrail, Norfolk Southern acquired the line east of Crestline. The depot came with the line.
Most of the exterior renovations have been completed on the depot and is expected to be completed this year.
Norfolk Southern Field Office
In the days following the derailment, Norfolk Southern pledged to maintain a permanent presence in the village and, in August, acquired the former Brittain Motors building at 428 N. Market St. to establish a Norfolk Southern Field Office.
The field office is intended to house and support both community engagement and operational functions, including the NS Family Assistance Center and office space to conduct business unrelated to the derailment in the village. When renovations are completed, the office is expected to complement existing structures on North Market Street with a brick facade to better match the aesthetic of the downtown district. An artist rendering of the finished exterior of the building closely resembles that of the East Palestine Library.
Over $1 million in building renovations to the field office are underway and the project is expected to be completed in the late first quarter or early second of this year.
City Lake
Last May, Norfolk Southern (NFS) Community Liaison Jeremy Vransevich announced plans to beautify the area around the 6-acre city lake.
The plan was to remove and replace the five benches, two picnic tables and garbage receptacles. The upgrades included pouring concrete pads on which the benches, handicap- accessible picnic tables and garbage would be installed. The project also included plans to repave and expand the parking lot and the creation of a walkway to the walking trails.
To date, the railroad has followed through with the benches, picnic tables, garbage receptacles and concrete pads.
Municipal Water Treatment Plant
Carbon filters, which cost $661,481 and were funded with a part of the $4.3 million commitment allocated by Norfolk Southern for water protection following the rail disaster, are expected to be online soon.
The filters are in place and work on the 101- by 42-foot structure required to house the system to prevent freezing in colder weather is nearly complete.
The carbon filters, manufactured by Calgon, are precautionary protection for the municipal water supply and comply with the new federal per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) guidelines, were a proactive approach taken by the village.
East Palestine City Park
Last spring, Norfolk Southern announced plans to revamp and renovate the city park and committed $25 million to those plans. Major elements of the proposed park improvements include a new aquatic center and pool house, modern playgrounds, upgraded baseball fields, new basketball, tennis and pickleball courts, major improvements to the brick pavilion, a new amphitheater with an electrified stage, enhanced parking lots and improved traffic flow and general upgrades to facilities and walkways.
While work has yet to begin, the first of eight phases of the projected timeline (meant to minimize disruption in use of the park during construction) is expected to get underway soon. Phase 1 is set to begin the second quarter of this year with Phase 8 to be completed in the third quarter of 2027.
The biggest project, the construction of a brand new aquatic center and pool house, is Phase 3. It is set to begin in the third quarter of next year and be completed by the third quarter of 2025. Phase 6, the overhaul of the brick pavilion, is slated to begin late next year and finish up mid-2025.
First Responder Training Center
In September, local officials and Norfolk Southern broke ground on the Norfolk Southern First Responder Training Center at the former site of the Jasar Recycling facility located on Edgeworth Ave. While it was reported that the training center was expected to be completed or well under construction by the end of 2024, no work has begun at the site.
The center, when completed, will provide ongoing, free training to first responders from Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and the greater region. The center will offer traditional fire-service training to all first-responders but more importantly it will offer specialized training for rail response and other transportational-related hazmat emergencies. The center will also provide training for a wide range of emergencies and provide training in both challenging and diverse environments. The acquisition of the Jasar property not only provided the acres needed to construct such a facility, it also provided pre-existing buildings that will be fabricated to mirror real-life locations like classrooms for active shootings scenarios and warehouses for complex structure-fire situations. The facility will also be the future home of the East Palestine Fire Department which will eventually relocate to the center.
The railroad pledged to invest at least $20,000,000 in the new center over the next 10 years and said "the center will operate through a partnership with the Village of East Palestine, at no cost to the village or taxpayers."
Norfolk Southern has not provided an update as to when construction on the center will begin.
selverd@mojonews.com