GREENSBURG, Pa. -- Railroad tracks divide the city, leaving Seton Hill University students no choice but to jump the tracks if they want a quick trip downtown -- but WTAE Channel 4's Jennifer Miele reported that there's a plan to open a nearly 100-year-old underground passageway for them.
When the train station was built in 1910, passenger travel was booming. But when traffic died down, police said drug use, vandalism and theft increased inside a tunnel that runs under Greensburg's railroad tracks and connects with the downtown area.
Greensburg officials capped off the western entrance to the tunnel. Now, many college students hop the fence and cross the tracks to get downtown every day.
"When people see it as a shortcut, this isn't like walking a neighborhood street where you look both ways and see no traffic. The train can come by quickly, unexpectedly, and cause harm," said U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Upper St Clair.
Officials want to build a new entrance to that tunnel.
"We believe we can create an easier path for the students and the pedestrians, rather than jumping across that platform and jumping across another fence," said Mike Langer, of the Westmoreland Cultural Trust. "We can funnel them to these steps or into an elevator so we can handle Americans with Disabilities Act compatibility."
The cultural trust owns the old train station at Ehalt Street, while Norfolk Southern owns the land off Seton Hill Drive on which the walkway would begin.
"We will be having security cameras inside the train station, as well as on the platform, which we will monitor 24-7 at the police station dispatch," Greensburg Police Chief Walter Lyons said.
The new entrance to the tunnel is expected to be completed this fall.
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