CLEVELAND (WJW) – The FOX 8 I-Team has found Cleveland City Hall now believes it has the attention of rail companies ordered to clean up and fix up railroad bridges.

The city says the companies have said they’ll be taking action, but if they don’t, they could face big fines.

We recently revealed the city cited Norfolk Southern and CSX for dozens of bridges with crumbling concrete, graffiti and more.

The I-Team went through the documents and found Norfolk Southern cited for 78 bridges. CSX was cited for 17. All citations were related to the conditions.

The law director told us the companies had a deadline of this week to take action.

Now, we’re told the rail lines have, in fact, reached out to the city, but they still have to do the work to make repairs.

“CSX and Norfolk Southern have reached out to us. Got back to us. They got our violation notices and they say they want to work with us,” Cleveland law director Mark Griffin said. “So, we’re going to give them the benefit of the doubt, but we’re also going to stay on top. So, trust but verify. If they don’t do what they say they want to do, then we’re going to be back in court.”

Going to court could lead to punishment. The railroads could face fines of up to $5,000 per violation per day.

For our original story, Norfolk Southern issued a statement.

“Our bridges in Ohio are often landmarks in our local communities – and how they look can be a resident’s first perception of how safe they are. In Ohio, we’ve invested $100 million in installation, rehabilitation, and replacement projects over the last five years. In the next five, we anticipate more than $240 million in bridge projects in the state, many of which are referenced in recent reports. While those take time, we’ve been working with local officials to understand and address concerns alongside regular inspections under FRA standards to ensure our bridges remain safe.”

CSX also issued a statement:

“CSX’s top priority is the safety and security of our operations, which includes the inspection and maintenance of our bridges and infrastructure. CSX’s bridges are maintained to federal standards and are regularly inspected to ensure their structural integrity. We have been in regular contact with officials in Cleveland regarding on this matter and just last week conducted a tour of our bridges in the city with a group of state officials to address any concerns. We are reviewing the violations and will respond appropriately.”