FY 2011 Continuing Resolution includes request to make Maine's 100,000 pound limit permanent

Sen. Susan Collins has convinced President Barack Obama to include a request in the FY 2011 Continuing Resolution to make permanent the pilot program that allows trucks weighing up to 100,000 pounds on Maine interstate highways. (The Trucker file photo)

The Trucker News Services

9/17/2010

WASHINGTON — Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, has revealed that the Obama administration has agreed to her request to make permanent the pilot program that allows trucks weighing up to 100,000 pounds to travel on federal interstate highways in Maine.

Collins said in a news release that at her request, Obama included the provision in the Fiscal Year 2011 Continuing Resolution, an appropriations bill that would continue to fund the federal government past Oct. 1.

Collins is a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

"Increasing the federal highway truck weight limit on Maine's interstate highways has always been one of my top priorities in the Senate," Collins said. "I have worked hard to convince the administration that it simply makes no sense to force heavy trucks off the federal highway and onto our smaller roads in Maine. This increases the wear-and-tear on our secondary roads and jeopardizes the safety of both drivers and pedestrians. I am delighted that the Administration understands the argument and has agreed to my request to help make permanent the temporary provision allowing trucks on Maine's federal interstate system."

"By making the pilot project permanent, Maine truckers will be able to transport more goods across the state more efficiently and more safely. Trucking companies will not have to worry about a day where their drivers are forced back onto the secondary roads to deliver the freight that drives our economy,” Parke said. “I applaud Sen. Collins for all her efforts and hard work to come up with a permanent solution to this important issue."

Last year, Collins successfully included a provision in the FY 2010 Omnibus Appropriations bill that created a one-year pilot project that allows trucks weighing up to 100,000 pounds to travel on Maine's federal interstates, such as I-95, 195, 295 and 395. The pilot project is set to expire on Dec. 17, 2010, when the heaviest trucks in Maine would be forced to divert back to secondary roads through downtown areas. The Federal Highway Administration is currently conducting an assessment of the pilot program's impact on safety, commerce and road wear and tear.

Highway safety advocate groups decried the pilot project.

The Coalition for Transportation Productivity (CTP), a group of more than 160 shippers and allied associations dedicated to increasing federal weight limits on interstate highways, applauded the Obama administration for including a provision in the Fiscal Year 2011, and called for heavier weight limits across the board.

“The administration’s efforts represent a significant breakthrough in the fight for trucking industry safety and productivity,” said CTP Executive Director John Runyan.  “CTP members know first-hand that heavier trucks belong on better-engineered interstate highways, and we would like to thank President Obama and Sen. Collins for their efforts to make sure the transportation networks in Maine and Vermont remain safe and efficient for motorists, truckers and pedestrians.

“As the administration stated, roads in Maine and Vermont have become much safer since interstates were opened to more productive trucks. But other states deserve the same chance to improve highway safety and productivity. CTP supports federal legislation called the Safe and Efficient Transportation Act (SETA) because it would extend this same opportunity to all states.”

Lyndon Finney of The Trucker staff can be reached to comment on this article at editor@thetrucker.com.

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