May 7—JOHNSTOWN, Pa. — It's official: The Johnstown Inclined Plane will not open this year.
After almost six months of safety-related delays, the Cambria County Transit Authority announced its decision Monday, citing the time required to re-manufacture key components, followed by six months of system testing, recertification/inspection and operator training/testing.
"The goal has been and remains to reopen the Incline to the public so it operates in a safe manner and fulfills its commitment to ensure longevity and durability of the Incline for many years to come," CamTran said in a press release.
Last month, the authority announced that an independent expert engineer found damage to the Incline's "safety cable rope," used as part of the backup brake system. Several broken strands on the safety cable rope were identified and determined most likely to have been damaged during construction activities.
During the inspection, concerns were raised about the hardness of metal in the rims of the massive sheave wheels. The eight sheave wheels turn on axles and guide the main cables like pulleys.
Engineers say the wheels' metal hardness relates to the longevity of the metal and whether the main haul ropes and safety cable rope could be further damaged by continued use.
Monday, the authority's press release said experts from Conroy Engineering of Pittsburgh determined "errors occurred in the fabrication of the rims on the main haul and safety sheave wheels.
The solution will require all of the sheave wheels to be re-fabricated.
Following an investigation by Conroy Engineering, an independent company hired by CamTran, it's been determined that errors occurred in the fabrication of the rims on the main haul and safety sheave wheels and a solution will require that the specialized wheels be remanufactured.
The wheels were part of the original 1890s design of the Incline and had to be individually cast to recreate the 130-year-old design.
The eight wheels were each cast in 24 pieces and then assembled in a different location. One of the wheels had to be recast early in the process. The process created the rehabilitation project's first major setback and pushed the potential completion date from spring 2023 until late summer or autumn that year.
CamTran Executive Director Rose Lucey-Noll said Monday it has not been determined if refabricating the wheels will increase the cost of the $15 million rehabilitation because the authority is still waiting for the final report from Conroy Engineering.
"The responsible party for payment will be identified once we receive the report," Lucey-Noll said.
Meanwhile, work on three related projects has resumed and is expected to be complete later this year.
They include the $550,300 rehabilitation of the pedestrian bridge over state Route 56 at the bottom of the Incline, a $138,900 Visitor Center roof replacement and the $550,356 reconstruction of the passenger waiting area and overlook deck.
The authority initially rejected a bid of $535,882 in June 2023 for the deck work because it was deemed too high. A second round of bidding in September resulted in a $369,637 contract for the work, but additional deterioration was discovered and a $180,713 change order in January pushed the total above the original bid that was rejected.
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