Instead of a trip of less than a minute, Bob Malone usually has to spend a half-hour in the car to retrieve the mail for his Marshall business.

He's not alone.

Since the Warrendale Post Office on Northgate Drive in Marshall burned to the ground four years ago, nearby residents and business owners have had to make the often traffic-jammed trip to the Wexford Post Office on Route 19 in Pine.

While the Wexford Post Office is only a 3.5-mile drive from Mr. Malone's banquet hall business, The Camelot, the round trip to fetch bills and letters can take 30 minutes of his day thanks to Route 19 traffic. The Camelot is at Mount Pleasant Road and Northgate Drive in what is called the Warrendale section of Marshall.

"It's a real pain for us to drive into Wexford for our mail," said Mr. Malone, who bought The Camelot with his wife, Katie, four years ago, shortly after the fire. "I don't understand why they don't just rebuild the post office."

Marshall officials don't understand that, either. Since firefighters extinguished the last burning ember of the fire on June 18, 2004, the site has remained empty and Marshall supervisors have been lobbying hard for the post office to be rebuilt.

The U.S. Postal Service had leased the building for 29 years and served 800 regular customers from the site, which included 300 post boxes and 500 residential delivery customers. The post office also served hundreds more who regularly used it to mail packages and buy stamps. The office handled about 5,000 pieces of mail daily.

Since the fire, the Wexford Post Office has taken over handling the mail, and postal officials have repeatedly told Marshall that they have no plans to rebuild in Warrendale or anywhere else in Marshall.

For Neil McFadden, Marshall's manager, that's hard to bear. He said he still hears regularly from residents who express a strong desire for the post office to return.

So does Jason Bragunier, vice chairman of the township's board of supervisors.

"I feel the community's desire is to have one post office for Marshall Township," he said. "Or at least move the Warrendale Post Office back to the Warrendale area instead of people being forced to travel to another post office."

Not having a post office in Marshall is a "major inconvenience," Mr. McFadden said, adding that township officials would entertain locations other than Warrendale.

"Warrendale is preferred, but we'll take what we can get," Mr. McFadden said.

Earlier this year, township officials sought the help of U.S. Rep. Jason Altmire, D-McCandless, whose district includes Marshall.

Mr. Altmire's office inquired about the status of the post office and received the same response that Mr. McFadden has become familiar with -- "No," at least for now.

Erik Komendant, spokesman for Mr. Altmire, said in this case, there's little his office can do.

"[The Postal Service] does not receive taxpayer funds. It is an independent federal agency ... and Congress has no direct role in its operations," Mr. Komendant said. "Our role is limited and, in situations such as this one, the best we are able to do is to advocate on behalf of our constituents."

Since 2003, postal officials have used what they call a "nationwide prioritization process" to make sure money is spent on "critical projects" and maintenance of existing facilities, according to a letter written to Marshall officials in May by Robert Beppler, district manager for the Postal Service.

Tad Kelley, spokesman for the Postal Service, said even if a decision to rebuild was made, it could be years before the post office became a reality because of funding needs, the time it takes to draw up plans and the need for municipal approvals to build.

He also noted that customers may visit the Postal Service's Web site to buy stamps and shipping labels and schedule package pickups, among other services. He hopes that by doing so, customers will save time and gasoline.

"We have an obligation to our rate payers to be prudent with our resources and finances while providing the best possible service," Mr. Kelley said, "especially in difficult economic times."