MOUNT VERNON — A House transportation bill which would force states to allow longer, heavier trucks on America’s roadways was temporarily put on hold Thursday when a U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee voted to amend the bill by sending it to a three-year study committee. If passed, this bill would allow raising the limits to 97,000 pounds for single-trailer trucks and 100,000 pounds for double- and triple-trailer trucks. Also allowed would be 126,000 trucks by permit and the allowance of 88,000-pound auto haulers.
“This is an all-out assault on the current weight and length limits that help protect the safety of all drivers, and our roads and bridges. This legislation poses many problems for not only Knox County but all of Ohio’s counties,” said Fred Pausch, executive director of the County Engineers Association of Ohio. “All trips begin and end on local roads. Large trucks accelerate the deterioration of the nation’s highways, roads and bridges. They will put further pressure on funding sources to maintain and repair these roadways. As income from the gas tax continues to decline, counties are already having difficulty keeping up with the needed repair.”
