Coalition urges House leaders to reject bill allowing heavier trucks on roadways

More than a dozen organizations representing a variety of industries are urging the House Speaker and Minority Leader to stop a bill that could put heavier trucks on the nation’s roads.

In a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, stakeholders ranging from local governments to trucking groups have asked the House leaders to reject requests to vote on a bill that would establish a pilot program for heavier trucks.

Introduced by Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., in May 2023, HR3372 creates a pilot program allowing six-axle trucks up to 91,000 pounds on federal interstates. States are not required to allow heavier trucks on their roadways. Rather, the pilot program permits states to opt in. Although the program is set to run for five years, the bill aims to authorize the transportation secretary to continue it for an additional five years.

HR3372 was immediately met with condemnation from stakeholders. In a letter to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association called the pilot program for heavier trucks a “farce.”

“While proponents of larger trucks would argue that larger trucks would mean fewer trucks, that would only be true in a sealed vacuum,” the rail association stated. “In the real world, trucks and freight rail compete fiercely for traffic every single day; dramatically increasing the size and weight of trucks shifts the economics of freight transportation and would shift more freight onto public highways.”

In a separate letter, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association urged committee members to reject the bill, claiming heavier trucks benefit large carriers only while hurting small-business trucking companies.

OOIDA said it would cost a small carrier $10,500 per truck to upgrade an axle configuration to haul at 91,000 pounds.

Last May, the bill passed the committee with a 33-27 vote and was placed on the House calendar in January. Now, there is a renewed push to get the House to vote on the pilot program for heavier trucks. As of Tuesday, Aug. 13, the bill has only three co-sponsors.

In their letter opposing HR3372, stakeholders reminded House leadership that previous attempts in Congress to allow heavier trucks have consistently failed. A 2016 U.S. Department of Transportation report found that heavier trucks would lead to billions of dollars of additional costs to highway infrastructure. That report recommended that Congress not approve any increase in truck weight.

Although the pilot program is for trucks operating on interstates only, the coalition pointed out that heavier trucks would affect local roads and bridges, as well.

“These heavier and longer trucks need to run on state and local roads to pick up and drop off freight, as well as for ‘reasonable access’ for fuel, food and other necessities,” the letter states. “Local roads and bridges face significantly more damage than interstates because they may be older, built to lower standards or are already in poor condition.”

Furthermore, the coalition of stakeholders said that anyone in favor of heavier trucks should support research plans already in place by the DOT and Transportation Research Board. The group suggested improving data collection in states where heavier trucks already operate.

Organizations signing off on the letter include:

• AAA
• American Public Works Association
• American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association
• Association of American Railroads
• Coalition Against Bigger Trucks
• Institute for Safer Trucking
• International Brotherhood of Teamsters
• National Association of Counties
• National Association of County Engineers
• National Association of Towns and Townships
• National League of Cities
• National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association
• Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association
• Railway Engineering-Maintenance Suppliers Association
• Railway Supply Institute
• Road Safe America
• SMART-TD
• Towing and Recovery Association of America, Inc.
• Truck Safety Coalition
• The United States Conference of Mayors

HR3372 is Dusty Johnson’s second attempt at establishing a pilot program for heavier trucks during the current session of Congress. In January 2023, he introduced the Safer Highways and Increased Performance for Interstate Trucking (SHIP IT) Act. The bill aims to improve the nation’s supply chain by providing recruiting and retention incentives for truck drivers and increasing shipping capacity.

Included in the SHIP IT Act is a pilot program for heavier trucks that is nearly identical to HR3372. One key difference is the SHIP IT Act allows the pilot program to be in place for up to 20 years rather than 10 years. With 11 co-sponsors, the bill has been sitting in the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit since February. LL

Land Line Senior Editor Mark Schremmer contributed to this report.