Amtrak moves forward with station accessibility improvements in Latrobe

After four years of planning, Latrobe residents will soon witness the restoration of the historic Amtrak station on McKinley Avenue.

Over the next two years, the circa 1903 station will be equipped with an accessible concrete and brick platform with lighting, guardrails and signs. A new pedestrian ramp will be added, leading from the parking area to the platform and shelters. The covered stairway leading from the parking lot to the platform will be rebuilt, and the parking lot will be repaved with more lighting, new landscaping and accessible parking spots.

The historic shelter and platform canopies will be rehabilitated, keeping as much original material as possible. All of these improvements fall under the federally funded Amtrak Americans with Disabilities Act Stations Program.

Ellen Pannell, coordinator for the Amtrak ADA Stations Program, recently briefed Latrobe City Council to discuss the plans.

“This has been a long time coming,” Pannell said. “This is an incredibly complex station, and it’s taken a long time to design, but we’re almost there.”

According to Pannell, the Amtrak team is still waiting for historic site approvals before putting the project out for bids.

According to Amtrak spokeswoman Beth Toll, improvements will take place “in at least two phases to ensure that the station will continue to serve passengers during construction.” The Latrobe station served 2,706 customers, generating $157,980 in revenue in 2022, according to Amtrak’s website.

“We would like to be able to start construction possibly this fall,” Pannell said. “Of course when we head into winter conditions, there may be a pause. Construction will take about two years because of the phasing that has to happen.”

The construction should not cause any road obstruction because workers and equipment will mainly be located in the parking lots owned by the DiSalvo family, located on each side of the site, Pannell said.

“My only two cents is that I’m in full support,” said Joey DiSalvo, owner of DiSalvo’s Station Restaurant. “This is the best thing that’s happened to me and the city in the 33 years that we’ve been there. We have funded money for the ADA and we’re finally getting some help. Any help is great to me and I’m very excited about it.”

Latrobe city Manager Terry Carcella said the project will help that section of the city’s stormwater control system because in addition to the new parking lot, there also will be underground stormwater storage.

“That’s a huge plus for us because right now we have two points where it drains off and goes into the sewer system,” Carcella said. “This work is going to correct that.”

Since establishing the program, Amtrak has made 108 stations compliant with ADA standards. About 40 stations are targeted for completion the 2023 fiscal year at a forecasted investment of $165 million.

“Everything west of Harrisburg is coming up in design,” Pannell said.