Governors Ask Size, Weight Flexibility

In what may be a precursor of a congressional debate next year over trucking productivity, four western governors are asking for formal hearings on giving states flexibility to increase the size and weight of trucks on federal highways.

The letters from the leaders of Idaho, Wyoming, North Dakota and South Dakota cite concerns about rail service in the western U.S., even though agricultural and other commodities appear to be moving smoothly at this time.

In an Aug. 31 letter, South Dakota Gov. William Janklow said he was worried about a repeat of last year’s rail service meltdown, in which grain rotted on the ground and containers backed up at ports and railheads because the Union Pacific and Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroads couldn’t handle the bumper wheat harvest.

Wyoming Gov. Jim Geringer expressed concern in an Oct. 30 letter that Wyoming’s small grain producers will not be able to get their harvest to market when prices rise.

And on Nov. 2, Idaho Gov. Phil Batt said that continuing rail service failures and delays in his state spurred him to support state legislation increasing the maximum gross weight limit on trucks from 105,500 pounds to 129,000 pounds on three Idaho roads.

“Federal truck size and weight restrictions limit the effectiveness of the measures we have taken,” Mr. Batt wrote in his letter to House Transportation Committee Chairman Bud Shuster (R-Pa.). “Trucks carrying the heavier loads are restricted to our state highways and cannot access federal-aid highways. Therefore, much of the transportation efficiencies that might be gained in getting our goods to market are unrealized.”

North Dakota Gov. Edward Schafer also weighed in with a letter, saying some food processors in his state would benefit from increased truck weights.

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