May 6, 2015 2 min read

CECIL – Several trucks traveling onto Route 980 from Swihart Road in Cecil Township have found themselves stuck at the intersection, leading Cecil Township supervisors to look at options there.

Supervisors discussed the problem Monday after it was brought to their attention by Bill Bottorff, public works director, that several tractor-trailers and smaller trucks have gotten hung up at the intersection due to the 4- to 5-foot elevation change at Route 980, which was recently resurfaced.

“The road was just paved, and there are already gouges,” Bottorff said.

According to Cecil police Lt. Rich Egizio, a tractor-trailer attempted to navigate a left turn from Swihart onto Route 980 North on April 23 when the undercarriage of his truck got caught on the roadway. Egizio said traffic was blocked for over an hour while the truck was pulled from the intersection.

He said this is not the first time a truck has gotten stuck there.

“It seems to be a regular occurrence,” Egizio said.

As a temporary solution, the public works department will place a sign on Swihart warning trucks not to make a left at that intersection, although it could not be enforced by police as there is no ordinance in place.

Motorists can use the other end of Swihart, which connects to Route 980 at Vincenty Road.

Council President Tom Casciola said the sign will be a warning to drivers not to attempt the turn. He said that truck drivers are not necessarily being negligent.

“Maybe they just don’t know,” he said.

Casciola said the township engineer plans to estimate the cost of elevating Swihart and present the information to representatives of Pretzel Inc., and Range Resources, both of which have trucks that frequently travel Swihart.

“We haven’t heard anything from drivers,” said Miriam Mitchell, office manager of Pretzel Inc. at 42 Swihart Road.

In an email, Mark Windle, Range Resources manager of corporate communications said, “We have not had any truck problems on Swihart Road.”