Dec 15, 2006 By Christine Haines 4 min read

ALLENPORT – Representatives from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and Norfolk Southern railroad met Thursday to address a hazardous road condition threatening the safety of children on school buses as well as area motorists. There is a steep embankment from Route 88 to the railroad tracks in Allenport Borough and erosion has caused a portion of the shoulder of Route 88 to collapse.

“It’s sliding and eroding away, and the guide rails are just hanging there,” said Marty Rapsack, the assistant Washington County maintenance manager. “It’s out to the white line.”

David Whitlatch, a design engineer for PennDOT, said there is no right of way recorded for Route 88 in Allenport, though there is a 30-foot right of way recorded for Norfolk Southern that goes to the white line at the edge of the highway.

“Even the guide rail is on their property, which complicates things,” Whitlatch said.

Whitlatch said there were three possible solutions to the problem: moving the road 10 feet to the west, away from the railroad tracks and the embankment; building a retaining wall the entire length of the embankment; or repairing the eroded areas.

“It’s a dangerous situation. As long as you repair it and make it safe, we don’t care how you do it,” said Al Pipik, the Allenport mayor. “My fear is a trailer truck is going to get a wheel stuck down in there and end up down on the tracks. If there’s a train coming, it’s going to be a disaster.”

The California Area School District has had similar fears, since six buses carry school children along that route twice a day. The road is also used by school buses from the Charleroi Area School District and by buses with the Mid-Mon Valley Transit Authority.

Jim Rockney, the assistant division engineer for bridges for Norfolk Southern’s Pittsburgh division, said the rail company has no role in the situation other than to provide flagmen during working hours to protect the train crews.

“If there was a wall supporting the railroad, we would maintain that. We’ve never maintained a wall supporting a highway,” Rockney said. “We’re not in the business of supporting roads.”

Rockney said Norfolk Southern would not have a problem granting a right of entry permit to PennDOT to work on railroad property, as long as the work did not interfere with train operations.

Whitlatch said the construction equipment could be kept on the highway and the railroad’s drainage ditch between the track and the embankment would not be affected by the project.

“We’ll excavate enough to put four to five feet of rock into there,” Whitlatch said.

Whitlatch said the road would be stabilized by putting in large stone, known as riprap. He said it will most likely be several weeks before the work can begin, given the upcoming holiday period and the need to get permission from Norfolk Southern and to get supplies for the job. Since PennDOT maintenance crew is also in charge of snow removal, the project could be delayed if there is snow or a significant threat of snow.

Whitlatch said the job would take two to four weeks to complete. Rapsack said he needs to discuss the situation with the traffic control division, since road restrictions will be needed once the guide rail is taken down and work begins on the project.

Rapsack said the northbound lane of the road would most likely be closed and a temporary traffic light would be installed.

Until the permanent repairs can be made, cold patch material will be used to fill the hole at the edge of the road and flashing lights will be used to mark the area.

Linda Mancini, the assistant superintendent for the California Area School District, said she was pleased with the outcome of the meeting.