South Norwood Committee Seeks Private Funding to Clean Landmark Railroad Bridges-June 26, 1981

Plan to Remove Dirt and Graffiti Follows Successful Nahatan Street Merchant Clean-Up Campaign

If it worked once, it might work again. The South Norwood Study Committee is currently toying with the idea of launching a grass-roots fund-raising drive to successfully clean accumulated dirt, soot, and graffiti off two landmark neighborhood railroad bridges.

The community revitalization concept is backed by a successful local precedent. Last year, a coalition of 28 mostly uptown businesses and local organizations stepped forward to donate approximately $12,000 worth of volunteer time, money, and materials to scrub down the railroad bridge crossing over Nahatan Street near the intersection of Broadway. Study committee chairman Walter J. Gotovich reported last night that his board is actively looking into the possibility of organizing a similar cooperative cleaning effort for the stone railroad bridges passing over Dean Street and situated at the busy corner of Washington Street and Chapel Street in South Norwood. Local officials calculate that a thorough cleanup job will significantly help to make the commercial district of South Norwood more attractive to neighborhood residents and regional shoppers alike.

Walter J. Gotovich noted that the committee has no definitive idea yet what the specialized masonry work would cost. “If the cost is up in the heavens, there’s no sense in even considering it,” Walter J. Gotovich reasoned. “We’ll be investigating to see if it’s feasible. We’re just talking about it”. If structural engineers find the costs are within reasonable reach, the committee plans to directly approach local businesses to anchor the funds. “We’re not sure of the response we’d get,” Walter J. Gotovich admitted, noting that committee members have not yet formalised discussions with neighborhood merchants. “It worked out well with the Nahatan Street bridge, so we think it might also work out well on these projects”.

Municipal funding assistance for the bridge wash is completely out of the question. “We don’t have any money, and with Proposition 2½ fiscal restraints, we’re not likely to get any,” Walter J. Gotovich emphasized. “It would have to be privately financed”. In addition to raising the private capital, the committee must also obtain formal administrative permission from the MBTA, which owns the railroad bridges, before any cleaning crews can legally begin work on the spans.

Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger