PAWTUCKET/CENTRAL FALLS – The former Pawtucket-Central Falls Train Station next to CVS on Broad Street is breaking down in its old age, but officials say the dilapidated building over the tracks doesn’t pose a threat to trains below.
That question of the structure’s viability is top of mind for some after a crumbling bridge barrier recently fell on train tracks in Cranston.
Central Falls City Solicitor Matt Jerzyk told The Local Insider that discussions on the structure’s future are ongoing between the current court-appointed receiver for the property, Mark Russo, and Amtrak in Rhode Island Superior Court.
There was a site visit involving various parties about a month ago, said Jerzyk, and there was no indication that the building posed an imminent threat. He said the cost of removing the structure, estimated at several million dollars, remains the significant hurdle.
The receiver is working with Amtrak to hopefully identify some potential funding streams for demolition work, said Jerzyk, but funds so far have been difficult to come by.
Jerzyk said there is potential to have the building removed in pieces or phases, but a structural engineer would first need to inspect the structure to see how that could be done and where there are places of heightened structural concern. That inspection, which is the next phase in this project, would reveal where to start.
Pawtucket Building Official John Hanley makes regular visits to the site to inspect for possible issues, said Jerzyk.
Officials learned a year ago that a grant proposal for demolition was denied. The grant would have at least partially funded what was previously an estimated $10 million cost of demolition.
The defunct train station, built 110 years ago in 1916, sits on the border of Pawtucket and Central Falls. It was previously proposed as a potential site for a modern train station, but the curve in the tracks at the location ultimately doomed that idea.
Its history has been filled with oddities, such as when it was used as a flea market or when it was sold to a local church for $1, and also warnings of potential accelerated issues given the intrusion of people seeking shelter. There were at one time plans to demolish it to make way for new development, but a historical advocacy group with the slogan “save our station” successfully blocked that proposal.
