Small Fayette County community says they're blindsided by major road closure

Starting on Monday, June 1, work to repair a train trestle over the Youghiogheny River will go into full swing and last for several months. But that work will close a road that's a main artery for the small community of Banning.

The Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway Company owns and operates the trestle that needs work. But to work on that trestle for the next few months, it says they have to close the road underneath, which is a main road for the community of Banning.

A press release from PennDOT, which is helping to facilitate the road closure for the railroad, went out just a few days ago, but Perry Township, where Banning is located, said it only became aware of the upcoming closure on Thursday afternoon.

The road that will be closed is called Banning Road, and it essentially cuts off the community from its closest grocery store in nearby Smithton, and it calls into question response times by public safety in the area.

The detour will add miles to a trip, possibly taking an extra 15 to 30 minutes depending on where someone is traveling. 

Tami Prah and her husband Robert Prah say this closure feels like it was rushed by the railroad and was just thrown suddenly onto the community.

"I just feel like if we would have had more notice, things would be in place," Tami Prah said. "And we would feel, and our neighbors would feel, more at ease knowing that we are going to be OK, we are going to be safe, they have a good plan in place."

"You can complain about the inconvenience," said Robert Prah. "That's a fact of life with these projects, but when it comes down to whether you can get an ambulance if you are having a heart attack or if you fall off your roof, or you need a fire company to come put out a fire, you have a brush fire and they are not going to get here for an hour — those are the big concerns."

Perry Township Supervisor and Fire Chief AJ Boni said he understands the concerns and that while they are trying to work with the railroad for a possible workaround for evenings and weekends, he says they have been unresponsive.

But in terms of public safety, he says there is a plan in place.

"It is always a three-fire company response down there, because of the lay of the land," Perry said. "Smithton is really close, which is in Westmoreland County. They are automatic down there, we are automatic, of course, and then Dawson is automatic. With this change, we have added a couple. We've added Turkey Town, which is in North Huntington, because of where the closure is going to be. We also added DLV, so there will be five fire companies to come down there. Fayette EMS will continue to handle what they do. And Rostraver EMS will be on the other side."

KDKA reached out to the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railroad but we did not hear back.