U.S. TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY VOWS TO WORK WITH SENATOR COLLINS, MAINE DELEGATION TO ADDRESS TRUCK WEIGHT ISSUE

U.S. Transportation Secretary, Ray LaHood, today pledged to work with Senator Susan Collins and Maine's Congressional Delegation, and state and local officials, to help address a significant safety issue in Maine: the federal weight-limit restriction that prevents heavy trucks from traveling on much of Interstate 95. During a hearing of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation today, Senator Collins-who is a member of the Committee-outlined the safety and commerce concerns of the federal rule that forces heavy trucks off the interstate highway and onto smaller, two-lane secondary roads that pass through cities, towns and villages.

"I realize that this issue requires a legislative fix, but I would ask today that the Department work with Maine officials on both sides of the aisle, state and federal, to help us develop a plan to remedy what is a serious safety and commerce issue," said Senator Collins.

"I certainly will and we are looking at this in the Department," replied Secretary LaHood. "I know it's a very, very critical issue and we will work with the Congress on the way forward to try and find the right fix for it."

Under current law, trucks weighing 100,000 pounds are allowed to travel only on the portion of I-95 designated as the Maine Turnpike, which runs from New Hampshire to Augusta, where the Turnpike designation ends, even though I-95 proceeds another 200 miles north to Houlton. At Augusta, however, heavy trucks must exit the modern four-lane, limited-access highway and are forced onto our secondary roads. Trucks weighing up to 100,000 pounds are permitted on interstate highways in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and New York as well as the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec. The weight limit disparity on various segments of Maine's Interstate Highway System is a significant impediment to commerce and increases wear-and-tear on our secondary roads.

In April, Senators Collins and Snowe reintroduced their bill, the "Commercial Truck Highway Demonstration Program Act," that would allow trucks carrying loads as heavy as 100,000 lbs to fully utilize the entirety of Maine's interstate network.