We already face a national infrastructure crisis. More than half the bridges on the National Highway System are more than 40 years old, and nearly 25 percent are already either structurally deficient or functionally obsolete (USDOT, 2015).

According to USDOT, heavier and longer trucks would have negative impacts on infrastructure. Increasing truck weight limits to 91,000 pounds would negatively affect more than 4,800 bridges, incurring up to $1.1 billion in additional federal investment (USDOT, 2016). Further, 97,000-pound trucks would negatively affect more than 6,200 bridges, incurring up to $2.2 billion in additional funding.

USDOT found that longer double-trailer trucks would require nearly 2,500 Interstate and other National Highway System bridges to be posted or face further damage, costing up to $1.1 billion in immediate bridge strengthening or reinforcement.

Instead of a bridge bailout costing billions of dollars, why not preserve the bridges we already have?