Land Line | Increased truck weights would damage local roads and bridges, lawmaker says

This month, the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee’s Highways and Transit Subcommittee held a critical hearing, “America Builds: A Review of Programs to Address Roadway Safety,” an important opportunity to discuss the condition of roadway safety across our nation.

During the hearing, Rep. Jerrold Nadler (NY-12) raised serious concerns about the risks of heavier trucks, referencing the @Coalition Against Bigger Trucks Local Bridge Study that found that over 72,000 local bridges would be put at risk by 91,000-pound trucks, and repairing these bridges would cost over $60 billion.

Commissioner James Willox of Converse County, Wyoming—testifying on behalf of NACo—emphasized the impact on local infrastructure: “Bridges and roads are not set up for that weight currently. Without a corresponding allocation of those billions of dollars from the federal government, we would not support raising the limit. Nothing gets from Point A to Point B without crossing a county or city street or bridge. And bridges are a big issue.”