Photo courtesy of American Loggers Council
'Removing these heavy trucks from Mississippi’s state and rural roads is a matter of safety, and I think this needed change will improve public safety and commerce in our state,' said Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith.
Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (MS) secured a provision in the Transportation — HUD Appropriations Bill, signed into law March 9, to allow unprocessed agricultural commodities, including raw or unfinished forest products (e.g. logs, pulpwood, biomass, wood chips) at current Mississippi state weight limits (88,000 pounds) on an interstate highway within the borders of Mississippi.
"Removing these heavy trucks from Mississippi's state and rural roads is a matter of safety, and I think this needed change will improve public safety and commerce in our state," said Hyde-Smith.
Hyde-Smith worked with the Mississippi Loggers Association, the Mississippi Forestry Association and the Farm Bureau Federation of Mississippi to ensure this important measure was included. Hyde-Smith also acknowledged the collaboration Sen.Susan Collins (ME) with support and guidance on this legislation.
These trucks and weights have been legally operating on rural and state road systems across the state of Mississippi and other states. This legislation does not increase the weight of trucks, or introduce heavier trucks to the roadways, it only allows trucks currently operating at the state authorized weights to access the safest route and allow them to divert from less direct rural routes that required them to drive through small towns, school zones, pedestrian areas and residential neighborhoods.
Countless engineering, transportation, and academic studies* have concluded that the safety, economic and environmental benefits of improving transportation efficiency are obtained by utilizing the federal interstate system where available. These benefits include safer routes; shorter transits; less fuel consumption; increased mpg; less greenhouse gas emissions; fewer accidents; and less road wear.
The U.S. federal interstate transportation policy is a fragmented, inconsistent, outlier when compared to non-interstate road systems. New England states allow agricultural product trucks permitted for higher weights to transit the interstate systems. Minnesota allows agricultural products to be transported at state maximum weights along a 23-mi. interstate transportation corridor.
Wisconsin and North Carolina interstate segments, newly incorporated into the interstate system, are grandfathered in at the prior (higher) state weight limits. Now, with Mississippi securing similar authorization, ample precedent has been established to support other states in pursuit of comparable authorization.
The American Loggers Council supports the establishment of the Safe Routes legislation to extend the option for states to create parity between their existing truck weights and interstate weight limits to establish a uniform and efficient transportation policy and system.
*Reference Sources:
Mississippi Log Truck Accidents from 2014-2018, Dr. John B. Auel, Mississippi Forestry Association.
University of Georgia Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, Safety, Cost-Effectiveness and Efficiency of Shifting to Interstates, Dr. Joseph Conrad.
University of Minnesota, An Assessment of the Safety and Efficiency of Log Trucks with Increased Weight Limits on Interstate Highways in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Minnesota Department of Transportation, Minnesota Truck Size and Weight Project, 2005.
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