Franklin Township supervisors held a public workshop meeting on Wednesday to discuss solutions on how to control emergency traffic issues if a crash occurs on the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

Among those in attendance were Todd Leiss, traffic incident management coordinator traffic engineering & operations, PA Turnpike Commission; Penn Forest Supervisor Christian Bartulovich; Jim Thorpe Councilman Michael Yeastedt, Franklin Township Police Chief Jason Doll, Franklin Township Fire Chief Lynn Diehl, Franklin Township emergency management coordinator Larry Diehl, and Franklin Township fire police. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation was invited to the meeting, but did not send a representative.

Board Chairman Fred Kemmerer Jr. said the workshop stemmed from several homes within the township getting hit by trucks that came off the turnpike after being rerouted.

The extra traffic is due to vehicles being diverted from the Pennsylvania Turnpike due to a crash, and the turnpike being shut down.

The trucks come off the turnpike on Route 903, come down the Maury Road, and then turn right onto Long Run Road and/or going straight over Indian Hill Road.

Kemmerer said he believes Route 903 is where the problem begins.

Doll said that if they’re getting off at the slip ramp, right now there’s no signs there.

Leiss alluded to the turnpike commission’s road closure procedure, “Plan X,” which means commission, in emergency situations such as multiple vehicle crashes, closes certain sections of the turnpike and reroutes traffic around the affected sections.

Leiss said he would take all the information back to his staff.

Doll stressed that any signs put on the Maury Road has to be very specific.

Diehl agreed that signs is sorely needed.

“This is more than just a turnpike problem,” Diehl said, who said permanent signs are needed.

The consensus appears to be to have the trucks come off the Maury Road, make a left toward Fairyland, then go to Harrity and past the hospital.

The goal is to have an area that’s designated as a safe route that’s not going to affect the residents.

Officials said they eventually plan to hold a Zoom meeting to further discuss the situation.

Last month, Franklin Township resident Jason Eidem addressed supervisors about an incident involving three tractor-trailers at his home at the intersection of Long Run Road and Canal Street.

On Aug. 8 at 3:44 a.m., two trucks that were transporting items for Walmart struck Eidem’s home, causing damage to the house and property.

The first two trucks never stopped, according to video feed provided by Eidem. In the video, the two tractor-trailers with “Walmart.com” on their sides struck Eidem’s home as they turned off Long Run Road onto Canal Street and drove away.

Eidem said he was unable to get the police to respond. Due to a shortage of police officers in several communities in the area, 911 calls sometimes need to be routed to the state police.

The extra traffic at the time was due to vehicles being diverted from the Pennsylvania Turnpike due to an accident, and the turnpike was shut down. The trucks came off the turnpike on Route 903, came down Maury Road, then turned right onto Long Run Road.

Some of the traffic issues were discussed with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation in October.