Increased truck weight limits urged

ORONO – A panel of American and Canadian transportation businesses, transportation industry representatives and U.S. Rep. Michael Michaud emphasized Tuesday the need to continue to push the federal government to increase weight restrictions on trucks traveling through Maine on Interstate 95.

“I eat, sleep, live this issue every day,” said Levi Ross, transportation manager for Dead River Co., which delivers heating fuel to homes and businesses throughout northern New England. Ross spoke at a breakfast sponsored by the Bangor Region Chamber of Commerce and the Action Committee of 50, a local business association.

Ross said the federal law limit of 80,000 pounds on many interstate highways severely hinders the efficiency of his business. Using 80,000-pound trucks requires almost 11/2 times more deliveries than using 100,000-pound trucks, Ross said.

Trucks weighing up to 100,000 pounds are allowed on the Maine Turnpike, but federal law prohibits any truck weighing more than 80,000 pounds on the interstate, including I-95 from Augusta and Houlton. State law allows trucks up to 100,000 pounds on state roads.

The panel, with backing from the Maine Department of Transportation and the state’s congressional delegation, agreed unanimously that the interstate weight limit should be increased. Panelists said the lower limit in northern Maine forces trucks to take narrow roads through residential areas and business districts. The lower weight limit also puts Maine at a competitive business disadvantage, they said.

“Increasing truck weights will reduce fuel consumption, reduce gas mileage, reduce road congestion,” said John Cashwell, former mayor of Bangor.

Raising the weight limit would also reduce fatal automobile accidents by 10 percent, Michaud said, citing a Maine DOT study.

Opponents of raising weight limits include Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, Parents Against Tired Truckers and the Coalition Against Bigger Trucks. They say raising truck weight limits in Maine would make the highway more dangerous, but they have not addressed the dangers of such trucks on back roads, according to Carol Woodcock, spokeswoman for Sen. Susan Collins.

Michaud also suggested that the railroad industry has lobbied heavily against weight limit increases, as such a move would detract from the rail business.

Members of Maine’s congressional delegation “have all submitted legislation. … We have started a pilot project to see if federal concerns are valid,” Michaud said. “I say if they don’t raise the limit, then they can provide funding to improve secondary roads, which will cost about $1 billion.”