WASHINGTON, (Jan. 31, 2005) — The American Trucking Associations reports that the “Safe Highways and Infrastructure Preservation Act” was re-introduced in Congress by Senators Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Mike DeWine (R-OH) last week.

The ATA said text of the SHIPA bill (S.95) is not yet available, but is likely to be identical to a bill in the previous Congress, which would have extended federal weight limits that currently apply only to the Interstate Highway System to the entire National Highway System.

That bill would have frozen trailer length on the National Highway System at 53 feet. The bill would grandfather size and weight limits that exceed the new standards. However, it could be difficult to meet the requirements for the grandfathering provision.

If states add new capacity to their National Highway System, or newly designate highways as National Highway System routes, the SHIPA restrictions would apply to these roads.

The National Highway System includes the Interstate System and more than 100,000 miles of other primary highways. The length provisions of SHIPA were included in last year’s Senate highway reauthorization bill, but the bill expired with the end of the 108th Congress last year. ATA said it will oppose inclusion of the SHIPA language in the highway bill now being debated.