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Coming Soon: Truck Ban on Gordon Mountain Road

GORDON — A road in Schuylkill County has seen its fair share of crashes over the years. Those crashes mostly involved tractor trailers that shouldn’...
SCHgordon trucks

GORDON -- A road in Schuylkill County has seen its fair share of crashes over the years. Those crashes mostly involved tractor trailers that shouldn't have been on the road anyway.

Now Gordon borough officials and PennDOT are saying, "no more."

Come this summer, no trucks will be allowed to drive down Gordon Mountain Road.

People who live at the bottom of the hill have seen dozens of crashes and hope the truck ban is enough.

This year, there were three crashes in three days, all at the bottom of Gordon Mountain Road. And in each case, the tractor trailer was not supposed to be going down the hill.

These wrecks happened in September and finally prompted local officials and PennDOT to make a decision.

"Change it that there would be no trucks at all, no commercial vehicles," said council member Jason Quick.

The truck ban will likely go into effect this summer.

There's no set plan yet, but there will likely be signs along Interstate 81 to stop truck drivers from getting off exit 119 at Highridge Park.

Newswatch 16 told the Cheeseman family about the proposed ban. They were pretty emotional. Over the years, they've seen dozens of crashes outside their home and even on their own property.

"I can't wait to find out what they're going to do and whatever else. It's going to be good," said Carol Cheeseman.

You can still see all the trash left from the latest crash. The Cheesemans, who live nearby, say the truck ban will allow them to do things like play outside and not have to worry.

"I was willing to sell the house for a penny. Now I don't have to, but now I can think about actually fixing up my house," said Cheeseman.

People in Gordon understand the truck ban may not stop all the crashes, considering that currently trucks weighing more than 19 tons are not supposed to come down the mountain, but some do anyway.

"I don't think it will ever solve the problem. I don't think there is a real solution to the problem, but I think it will be beneficial to the community," said Quick.

Officials from Gordon and PennDOT plan to meet in the upcoming weeks to discuss a plan for signs, detours, and possible fines.

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