Sens want to make heavy trucks pilot permanent
AUGUSTA, Ma. – Political proponents of heavier trucks say they will try to make permanent a now expired pilot program that permits trucks of up to 120,000 pounds in Maine and Vermont.
U.S. Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) say they will re-introduce the bill, which would make truck weights in those states uniform with New York, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Quebec.
The pilot, which was blocked from being renewed in December, allows 100,000-pound, six-axle trucks on Maine’s Interstates and 108,000- to 120,000-pound six-axle trucks in Vermont.
The current law restricts trucks weighing more than 80,000 pounds from regularly using the nation’s Interstate highway system.
"The hodge podge of disjointed rules that has evolved in our region does not work for anyone, especially the communities that have had to absorb the added traffic," said Leahy. "The Vermont pilot program has proved itself, and it’s time to make it permanent."
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