Congress OKs higher truck weight limit
The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives have approved a measure that allows heavier trucks to travel on I-95 to northern Maine.
U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, who is on the Senate Transportation Appropriations Committee, pitched the provision and negotiated the agreement, according to a press release. The Senate initially approved the provision, but the House previously did not. The provision would be in place 20 years and allow trucks weighing up to 100,000 pounds to travel on all Maine federal interstates. Last year, Collins secured a one-year pilot program to increase the weight limit from 80,000 pounds, but the program failed to receive permanent support. Currently, trucks weighing more than 80,000 pounds can travel on the Maine Turnpike from Kittery to Augusta but must then divert to secondary roads. The measure is part of a 2012 spending bill to which the Senate and House are expected to give final approval next week.
Collins and other proponents argued it was unsafe for heavy trucks to drive on secondary roads, but opponents, including members of the rail industry, argued against the measure.
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