Trailer combos getting a longer look
FREDERICTON — New Brunswick is joining the ranks of North American jurisdictions that are excelling their interest in long combination vehicles (LCVs).
New applications from trucking carriers to operate LCVs under special permit on four-lane highways in New Brunswick will be accepted, effective June 30.
An LCV is a twin semi-trailer combination with an overall length of 40 meters, or about 130 feet. A handful of carriers, including Sunbury Transport, have already been operating the units on Routes 1 and 2 between Saint John and Dieppe as part of a pilot project since 2005.
“The operation of LCVs on major corridors can also provide environmental benefits such as fuel savings and greenhouse gas reductions that contribute to the province’s Climate Change Action Plan,” says Transportation Minister Denis Landry.
The N.B. Department of Transportation says they will be applying strict permit and operating conditions to all carriers approved to operate LCVs. Companies will be required to submit a detailed application covering such items as access to origin-destination, commodities transported, and driver and vehicle information.
The government has information for vehicle specification, the approval process and is currently developing an application manual, which will be available June 30.
Gaining In Popularity:
Increasing maximum operating weight and length of over-the-road trucks could decrease congestion, save fuel and reduce pollution, according to research released by the American Transportation Research Institute — the research arm of the American Trucking Associations.
under special permit since 2005.
The updated research confirms potential fuel efficiency improvements can be achieved through the operation of higher productivity vehicles.
The research analyzed six different vehicle configurations: five-axle tractor-semitrailer, double, six-axle tractor-semitrailer, Rocky Mountain double, triple trailer combination and turnpike doubles.
For nearly every vehicle configuration studied, operating at higher weights allowed freight payloads to be increased at a greater rate than the additional fuel required to move the heavier load.
Back in Canada, several provinces are already conducting LCV pilot projects. In B.C. last year — between Burnaby and Kamloops — LCVs were being monitored to gauge the vehicles’ impact on provincial roads. There are plans afoot to begin an in-service LCV study in Ontario in the near future.
Contact New Brunswick Department of Transportation at: 506-453-2802
Have your say
This is a moderated forum. Comments will no longer be published unless they are accompanied by a first and last name and a verifiable email address. (Today's Trucking will not publish or share the email address.) Profane language and content deemed to be libelous, racist, or threatening in nature will not be published under any circumstances.