Sentence:  West of here, it ascends to its viaduct where, 20 feet above the ground, the Westway seeks to emulate it; two scruffy <WSD>reprobates</WSD> shouldering their way through a not very pretty streetscape; the one a railway built by corporate buccaneers, the other a road constructed as part of a discredited plan to girdle London with motorways. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  An individual with low morals or principles.