[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 34 (Tuesday, March 4, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3100-S3101]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. SNOWE (for herself and Ms. Collins):
  S. 510. A bill to establish a commercial truck highway safety 
demonstration program in the State of Maine, and for other purposes; to 
the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
  Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, I rise today, along with my colleague 
Senator Collins, to introduce legislation, the Commercial Truck Highway 
Safety Demonstration Program Act, to create a safety pilot program for 
commercial trucks.
  This bill would authorize a safety demonstration program in my home 
State of Maine that could be a model for other States. I have been 
working closely with the Maine Department of Transportation, 
communities in my State, and others to address statewide concerns about 
the existing Federal interstate truck weight limit of 80,000 pounds.
  I believe that safety must be the No. 1 priority on our roads and 
highways, and I am very concerned that the existing interstate weight 
limit has the perverse impact of forcing commercial trucks onto State 
and local secondary roads that were never designed to handle heavy 
commercial trucks safely. We are talking about narrow roads, lanes, and 
rotaries, with frequent pedestrian crossings and school zones.
  I have been working to address this concern for many years. During 
the 105th Congress, for example, I authored a provision providing a 
waiver from Federal weight limits on the Maine Turnpike, the 100-mile 
section of Maine's interstate in the southern portion of the State, and 
it was signed into law as part of TEA-21. I have also shared my 
concerns with the Department of Transportation and the Senate 
Environment and Public Works Committee to urge them to work with me in 
an effort to address this challenge.
  In addition, the Main Department of Transportation is in the process 
of conducting a study of the truck weight limit waiver on the Maine 
Turnpike, and I have been working closely with the State in the hopes 
of expanding this study, which will focus on the safety impact of 
higher limits, infrastructure issues, air quality issues, and economic 
issues as well, in order to secure the data necessary to ensure that 
commercial trucks operate in the safest possible manner.
  Federal law attempts to provide uniform truck weight limits, 80,000 
pounds, on the Interstate System, but the fact is there are a myriad of 
exemptions and grandfathering provisions. Furthermore, interstate 
highways have safety features specifically designed for heavy truck 
traffic, whereas the narrow, winding State and local roads don't.
  The legislation I am submitting today would simply direct the 
Secretary of Transportation to establish a 3-year pilot program to 
improve commercial motor vehicle safety in the State of Maine. 
Specifically, the measure would direct the Secretary, during this 
period, to waive Federal vehicle weight limitations on certain 
commercial vehicles weighing over 80,000 pounds using the Interstate 
System within Maine, permitting the State to set the weight limit. In 
addition, it would provide for the waiver to become permanent unless 
the Secretary determines it has resulted in an adverse impact on 
highway safety.
  I believe this is a measured, responsible approach to a very serious 
public safety issue. I hope to work with all of those with a stake in 
this issue, safety advocates, truckers, States, and communities, to 
address this matter in the most effective possible way, and I hope that 
my colleagues will join me in this effort.
  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I rise to join with my senior colleague 
from Maine in sponsoring the Commercial Truck Highway Safety 
Demonstration Program Act, an important bill that addresses a 
significant safety problem in our State.
  Under current law, trucks weighing as much as 100,000 pounds are 
allowed to travel on Interstate 95 from Maine's border with New 
Hampshire to Augusta, our capital city. At Augusta, trucks weighing 
more than 80,000 pounds are forced off Interstate 95, which proceeds 
north to Houlton. Heavy trucks are forced onto smaller, secondary roads 
that pass through cities, towns, and villages.
  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 
forces trucks traveling to and from destinations in these States and 
provinces to use Maine's State and local roads, nearly all of which 
have two lanes, rather than four. Consequently, many Maine communities 
along the interstate see substantially more truck traffic than would 
otherwise be the case if the weight limit were 100,000 pounds for all 
of Maine's interstate highways.
  The problem Maine faces because of the disparity in truck weight 
limit is perhaps most pronounced in our State capital. Augusta is the 
Maine Turnpike's northern terminus where heavy trucks that are 
prohibited from traveling along the northern segment of Interstate 95 
enter and exit the turnpike. The high number of trucks that must 
traverse Augusta's local roads, and particularly its two rotaries, 
creates a hazard for those who live and work in as well as visit the 
city.
  The Maine Department of Transportation estimates that the truck 
weight disparity sends 310 vehicles in excess of 80,000 pounds through 
Augusta every day. These vehicles, which are sometimes transporting 
hazardous materials, must pass through Cony Circle, one of the State's 
most dangerous traffic circles and the scene of 130 accidents per year. 
The fact that the circle

[[Page S3101]]

is named for the 1,200 student high school that it abuts adds to the 
severity of the problem.
  A uniform truck weight limit of 100,000 pounds on Maine's interstate 
highways would reduce the highway miles and travel times necessary to 
transport freight through Maine, resulting in economic and 
environmental benefits. Moreover, Maine's extensive network and local 
roads will be better preserved without the wear and tear of heavy truck 
traffic. Most important, however, a uniform truck weight limit will 
keep trucks on the interstate where they belong, rather than on roads 
and highways that pass through Maine's cities, towns, and 
neighborhoods.
  The legislation that Senator Snowe and I are introducing addresses 
the safety issues we face in Maine because of the disparities in truck 
weight limits. The legislation directs the Secretary of Transportation 
to establish a commercial truck safety pilot program in Maine. Under 
the pilot program, the truck weight limit on all Maine highways that 
are part of the Interstate Highway System would be set at 100,000 
pounds for 3 years. During the waiver period, the Secretary would study 
the impact of the pilot program on safety, and would receive the input 
of a panel that would include State officials, safety organizations, 
municipalities, and the commercial trucking industry. The waiver would 
become permanent if the panel determined that motorists were safer as a 
result of a uniform truck weight limit on Maine's Interstate Highway 
System.
  Maine's citizens and motorists are needlessly at risk because too 
many heavy trucks are forced off the interstate and on to local roads. 
The legislation Senator Snowe and I are introducing is a commonsense 
approach to a significant safety problem in my State. I hope my 
colleagues will support passage of this important legislation.

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