Pennsylvania Capitol Escalator Problem Discussed

Officials at the Pennsylvania State Capitol in Harrisburg are mulling options brought on by frequent breakdowns of the escalator in the building’s East Wing — a main access point to the Rotunda for school groups and many legislative and government staff members, PennLife reports. For years, visitors say, the escalator has been more broken down than operating, a situation that has cost hundreds of thousands in repair bills and sending people to a spiral staircase or a set of two elevators. Curt Topper, the state’s General Services secretary, recently asked elected officials what funding initiatives should be taken — a question he has had for years. Among his proposals would be to replace the escalator completely, but another suggestion would be to substitute the unit with a stairway. A decision is yet to be made, but at least one lawmaker called on officials to keep an escalator operating where it is. The East Wing opened in 1987.