Published Wednesday, Sept. 30, 1998
The group hopes to put the petitions in as many local stores as it can and get as many signatures as possible, said borough Councilwoman Michelle Brooks, who chairs the group with local contractor John Anderson.
The signed petitions will be turned over to PennDOT, which will present the petitions to the state Public Utilities Commission.
The PUC has ordered PennDOT to tear down the 127-year-old landmark arch or face fines of $1,000 a day. The arch was one of the former railroad crossings that PennDOT asked the PUC for permission to remove, Karl Ishman, PennDOT district assistant engineer, said during a public meeting last week. The PUC issued its order when PennDOT did not act quickly enough to raze the arch, he said.
The arch was built for trains carrying coal and crude oil from the Stoneboro and Oil City areas to Cleveland. The last train went over the arch in the late 1980s.
PennDOT will use the petitions to convince PUC to give PennDOT and the arch supporters time to figure out what can be done to save the arch. An idea suggested at last week's public meeting was building a bypass around the arch.
The arch was deemed a traffic hazard because it is not wide enough for two-way traffic and trucks.
