(1) States including Montana, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming have been grandfathered the right to operate up to 129,000-pound or greater vehicle combinations on 9 axles or more on Federal highways;
(2) laws governing Federal highway funding effectively impose a limit of 105,500 pounds on the weight of vehicles permitted to use the Interstate System within the State of Idaho;
(3) the State of Idaho is surrounded by the States specified in paragraph (1) that allow higher weight limits on the Interstate System, which puts the State of Idaho at a disadvantage in moving freight within Idaho and into those surrounding States;
(4) in 2003, the legislature of the State of Idaho adopted House Bill 395, which established a 10-year pilot project that allows vehicle combinations up to 129,000 pounds to be operated on 10 axles on specific routes in that State, but does not address the Interstate System;
(5) in enacting the pilot project program in House Bill 395 of the State, the legislature required the Idaho Transportation Department to report to the legislature on the effect of the program;
(6) the Idaho Transportation Department is required to submit reports every 3 years during the 10-year life of the pilot project program that describe the results of monitoring and evaluation of all important impacts, including impacts to safety, bridges, and pavement, on all pilot project routes;
(7) the pilot project program terminates on July 1, 2013, unless the program is otherwise extended or sooner repealed by the legislature;
(8) the administration of the pilot project, coupled with the fact that vehicle combinations cannot operate at 129,000 pounds on the Interstate System, has forced those heavier vehicle combinations to divert onto small State and local roads on which higher vehicle weight limits are allowed under State law;
(9) the diversion of those vehicles onto those roads increases fuel costs because of increased idling time and total travel time along those roads;
(10) the cost of transportation fuel has increased more than 80 percent between calendar years 2007 and 2008; and
(11) permitting commercial vehicles to travel on a select few Interstate System highways within the State at increased weight limits would provide--
(A) significant savings in the transportation of goods throughout the State; and
(B) substantial data and an opportunity for analysis of the impacts of the vehicles on bridges, highway safety, and pavements.
U.S. Congress - Text of S.398 as Introduced in Senate Idaho Efficient Vehicle Demonstration Act of 200
