Idaho Senate OK’s truck plan
By SHANNON DININNY - Associated Press
Tuesday, March 20, 2007 11:53 AM PDT
BOISE — Heavy trucks would be allowed on nearly 550 more miles of Idaho roads under two bills approved by the state Senate over the objection of some who argue that the interests of Idaho sugar beet growers are trumping safety concerns.
Supporters, meanwhile, contend the measures would reduce truck traffic, thereby improving safety and benefiting the environment.
The legislation would expand a 2003 pilot project that lawmakers established to test the use of 129,000-pound trucks on a limited number of state highways. At the time, only trucks weighing up to 105,500 pounds were allowed on those roads, covering an estimated 851 miles, according to the state Department of Transportation.
The intent was to provide a more efficient means of freight transport.
Together, the two bills approved Monday by senators would add 549 miles of roads to the program. The bills now go to the House. The bills are good for Idaho, because they reduce truck traffic by allowing larger, less frequent loads, thereby reducing diesel emissions and improving safety, said Sen. John McGee, R-Caldwell, the bills’ sponsor.
‘‘We’re getting more products into an area with fewer loads,’’ said Sen. Tim Corder, R-Mountain Home, who noted that Idaho is the seventh most expensive state in the nation to drive a truck.
Corder also disputed that heavier trucks mean more damage to roads, arguing that the age of the highway affects its degradation more than anything.
‘‘The parts of our freeways that are in the roughest shape are well beyond their lifespan,’’ he said.
The 2003 law required the Transportation Department to report back to lawmakers every three years on the program’s impact on roads. The department’s recent report showed that there was insufficient data to conclude whether the heavier trucks were damaging highways. The whole point of the pilot project was to determine that very fact, and lawmakers should not be proposing to expand the program without having better information about its impact, said Sen. Joe Stegner, R-Lewiston.
‘‘I find that to be getting the cart slightly before the horse,’’ he said. ‘‘We can at least wait a few more years to see the impact before expanding this project.’’
Sen. Gary Schroeder, a Republican from Moscow, said that adding more roads to the program simply aids the already-subsidized sugar beet industry at the expense of taxpayers.
‘‘Either we’re going to transfer (the money) away from other parts of the state to repair roads, or else we’re going to raise taxes,’’ he said.
‘‘In the future, my people are going to pay more money for this mistake we’re making here.’’
In the first three years, the state issued 24 permits for 369 trips by the heavier trucks. Of those, 75 percent were to haul sugar beets, and 14 percent were to haul hazardous waste to a site near Grandview.
The grower-owned Amalgamated Sugar Co. estimated its savings at $95,000 per year under the current program, due to a reduction in the total number of truck trips. Expanding the number of roads in the program would add $250,000 in annual savings, said Roy Eiguren, a lobbyist for the company.
The Transportation Department took no position on the bills, which passed the Senate on 24-8 and 23-9 votes.
