Aug 19, 2024 By Zach Petroff 3 min read

For the third summer in a row the one-lane Layton Bridge has been closed for repairs.

For some travelers, the detour is an inconvenience; however, for Stephanie Romanishan and Don Hasch the closure is having an impact on their bottom line.

“Our operation is just in shambles,” said Hasch, co-owner of the Hazelbaker Recreational Services located on 654 Layton Road in Perryopolis.

The bridge is the most efficient way to get to Hazelbaker’s, a mostly summer-based business that offers canoe and kayak trips on the Youghiogheny River.

Courtesy of PennDOT

The alternate route for the Layton Bridge closure

Along with having to explain to their nearly 300 daily customers about the additional time it will take to get to their establishment, the owners said they are incurring more costs with the extra amount of travel they have to make when transporting customers to a launch point on the river.

“Our vehicles now have to go to a different gas station instead of using one that’s in Perryopolis, which is having an economic profitability impact to our business,” Romanishan said recently.

She’s also worried about the environmental impact the added mileage on trips will have.

“We’re also thinking about our carbon footprint now that we’re driving around more,” she said. “We’re environmentalists, we love the river, that’s why we are in this business. But at the same time, we have to think about our environmental impact in other aways in addition to the potential loss of habitat.”

Hasch said they’ve been involved in various meetings about the bridge since 2015 and have been unable to grow their business because of the uncertainty of if and when the bridge may be replaced.

“We can’t take our business to that next level,” he said.

The bridge closures also have the potential to impact public safety, said Perry Township Supervisor A.J. Boni.

While neighboring municipalities have been able to help with emergency calls during the temporary bridge closures, Boni said EMS is already spread thin.

Depending upon where a first responder is dispatched from and where they’re headed to, Boni estimated the response time could jump from 7 minutes up to 20 minutes due to the detour.

“Those minutes matter when it comes to saving lives,” Boni said.

Laina Aquiline, spokesperson for state Department of Transportation District 12 said the agency understands the concern from residents and has made safety the top priority for the communities.

“(Safety) is always given the utmost consideration in everything we do,” Aquiline said. “Our primary job is to make sure that people we serve are being taken care of because life is precious, and as a government entity we are tasked with the responsibility of the citizens we serve.”