WHISTLER, B.C. – After 18 months of lobbying, the Alberta government appears ready to approve 24,000-lb., medium-spread tridems, increasing allowable weights by 1,000 lb., says Jurgen Mantei, chairman of the Alberta Trucking Associations.

The latest step in harmonizing weights between B.C. and Alberta should be approved within 90 days, he told the British Columbia Trucking Association (BCTA) during its annual convention in early June.

“That’s a direct payload increase on Super Bs,” notes the petroleum hauler from Calgary. “You’ll see (an increase like) that in the bottom line.”

The announcement comes only two months after another move to harmonize weights and dimensions, allowing Rocky Mountain Doubles to cross the border into Dawson Creek as part of a pilot project. The configuration includes a lead trailer that is longer than the one that follows it, although the overall length is shorter than that of a turnpike double found in the eastern U.S. Those can be as much as 100 feet long.

Five carriers are participating in the project.

While toll free numbers are posted on the back of the trucks and on the highway, there hasn’t been a single call complaining about the configurations, adds Paul Landry, president of the BCTA. n