MOUNT VERNON — Knox County’s commissioners were asked Monday to join the opposition to increasing the weight limit for trucks on Interstate highways. The request came from Michael B. Gaynor, field director for GoRail, a private nonprofit group that promotes the use of railroads for hauling freight.
Gaynor argued that raising the weight limit on trucks from 80,000 to 97,000 pounds would have several negative effects: It would result in shipping goods by a less efficient means of transportation as it is cheaper to ship by rail than trucks; it would significantly increase the damage to roads and bridges by heavy trucks and it would make highways more dangerous.
No Interstate highways cross Knox County, but the material Gaynor left indicated several states are also considering increasing the weight limit, although there was no indication Ohio is one of them. Ohio already allows bigger, double-trailer trucks to cross the state on the Ohio Turnpike, but they can’t use any other highways in the state.
