WASHINGTON — A bill that would allow states to authorize an increase in their weight limits on Interstate highways was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives this week.

The "Safe and Efficient Transportation Act of 2009" — co-sponsored by Reps. Michael Michaud (D-Maine) and Jean Schmidt (R-Ohio) — would allow states to increase the weight of trucks allowed on the Interstate System within state borders to make them consistent with surrounding states.

Michaud says the current patchwork of differing weight requirements harms safety by forcing trucks onto roads not designed for their use and hurts the economy by reducing the efficiency of freight networks.

Currently, most of Maine’s Interstate highways are subject to the federally mandated truck weight limit of 80,000 pounds. However, Maine’s state limit is 100,000 pounds — and it would be difficult to lower it due to the demands of Maine’s major industries, especially forest products, and the through traffic from the surrounding states and Canadian provinces which all have 100,000 pound limits on all of their roads.

"In working on this issue for years, I have come to realize that Maine is not the only state affected by truck weight mismatches," said Michaud. "States that do not want increased weights would not have to have anything forced on them. I recognize that what makes sense for Maine may not make sense for other places."

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, there would be a 20-year pavement restoration cost savings of nearly $2.5 billion dollars utilizing the 97,000-pound six-axle truck.

At the same time, opposition politicians are trying to advance a bill that would block proposed pilot projects to increase truck size and weight rules. 

The Safe Highways and Infrastructure Preservation Act, introduced by Rep. James McGovern, D-MA, aims to lock down size and weight limits to their current maximum.

That proposal is supported by OOIDA, the association of independent owner-operators.