Taxpayers will bear the cost of heavier trucks

Taxpayers will carry the full burden of heavier trucks on our roads if Congress doesn’t get rid of an amendment to the highway funding bill that would allow big trucks to further strain our country’s fragile infrastructure.

The amendment, proposed by Rep. Reid Ribble (R-Wis.), would increase the current weight limit for every tractor-trailer from 80,000 pounds to 91,000 pounds – adding the equivalent of two large SUVs to every truck.  Given the fact that many trucking companies and the Truckload Carrier Association oppose this move, and that added truck weight will damage already stressed roads and bridges, lawmakers should strike this amendment before sending a final highway bill to the White House for the president’s signature.

{mosads}Our infrastructure is in no shape to handle this additional workload — particularly our nation’s bridges. A June 2015 study from the U.S. Department of Transportation found that the added stress of bigger trucks would require engineering and repair work – or even a complete replacement – of nearly 5,000 bridges.

The DOT estimates repair work of this scale would cost at least $1.1 billion. Given that the DOT analyzed a mere 20 percent of the nation’s bridges for its report, the true cost is likely to be billions of dollars more.

Supporters of bigger trucks have claimed that the addition of a sixth axle on these trucks would reduce or eliminate the damage caused by additional weight. But the stress on our roadways is primarily caused by gross vehicle weight, so adding an extra axle will do little to reduce bridge damage.

The select group of shippers who are pushing for heavier trucks and support this amendment are unlikely to foot the bill for the damage these bigger trucks will cause.

A 2000 DOT study found that 97,000-pound trucks would contribute fuel taxes and other fees that cover just 50 percent of the cost of the damage they cause. When adjusted for inflation, the DOT findings show 80,000 pound trucks currently underpay their federal cost responsibility by around 27 cents per gallon of fuel. For other truck sizes and weights, the federal underpayment could be up to four times more.

This means taxpayers will pick up the tab for much of the damage caused by heavier trucks, at a time when we are in desperate need of infrastructure investment. The backlog to repair bridges and highways is already tens of billions of dollars and this will only grow if this amendment is included in the final highway bill.

Bigger trucks with bigger loads will increase fuel consumption by millions of gallons a year, generate increased greenhouse gas emissions and divert more freight to the country’s already gridlocked highways.  

The consequences of bigger trucks for our nation’s infrastructure, environment and taxpayers are too great to ignore, which is why lawmakers have repeatedly rejected the idea of increasing truck size and weight in the past.  Today is no different, and lawmakers should once again say no to bigger trucks on our nation’s roadways and bridges.

Hamberger is president and CEO of the Association of American Railroads.