The closing of the deteriorated South Monroe Street Bridge has created an inconvenience for the many motorists who used the span regularly. But, more importantly, it also has posed a public-safety issue that must be regarded as serious.

For that reason, it is imperative that officials of Buffalo and Pittsburgh Railroad, owner of the span, meet as soon as possible with city, county and state Department of Transportation officials to assemble an agreement under which the bridge can be replaced as quickly as possible. The bridge must not remain closed for years as a result of a battle in the courts over the railroad's unwillingness or financial inability to replace the bridge by itself.

South Monroe Street is a busy connector between the city's South Side and points north and east. In some instances, the absence of that route will delay police and firefighter response, and some ambulances will likewise require more time to transport ill or injured people to Butler Memorial Hospital.

It is not a palatable situation for a community already beset with numerous other serious streets/infrastructure issues resulting from bad judgment and neglect by city leaders for many years. The situation exacerbates an image that Butler is a city in decline, even though the opposite might be true on some fronts.

The railroad's neglect of proper upkeep of its bridge is just another chapter of how city leaders' inattention to the full scope of the municipality and their responsibilities has allowed a big problem to evolve that could have been headed off a long time ago.

The impact of the South Monroe Bridge closing requires that current leaders and railroad officials muster the ingenuity, flexibility and cooperative spirit necessary to find an expeditious, workable course of action to bring about what probably will have to be a new span. It's hard to fathom that repairs are a possible choice for the 80-year-old bridge's current shortcomings, which officials say have made the span too dangerous to carry any traffic load.

Meanwhile, under whatever fix eventually transpires, it should be the city's goal to take over responsibility for the bridge and its maintenance so future leaders will be spared from having to deal with the railroad, should future issues regarding the bridge arise.

Hopefully, future leaders will be better equipped to deal with responsibilities that bridge ownership would entail.

Perhaps an arrangement could be worked out whereby South Monroe Street bridge replacement could be tied to a larger effort, such as improving the South Monroe-Jefferson Street intersection a short distance away. A larger-scale project might make the needed bridge work more attractive for federal or state funding.

Regardless, a solution for the South Monroe Bridge's terrible plight is within the realm of the city's, county's and railroad's capabilities. However, that will necessitate a meet-and-discuss session involving all of the parties sitting around the same table to weigh possible options and discuss their respective positions on the needed work.

Most importantly, those around that table must commit themselves to avoiding a costly, unnecessary, inappropriate legal fight.

In the long run, that would be in no one's best interests, especially those of city residents who depend so much on the Monroe Street corridor.

- J.R.K.