Idaho Senate Bill 1117 has cleared its first roadblock. The bill, which would allow increased truck weights, passed a state House committee.
SB 1117 would allow trucks weighing 129,000 pounds to travel on any road that local highway jurisdiction’s say engineering standards are met.
Advocates for the bill say the increased weights would allow trucking companies to make less frequent trips, but opponents say the bill the bill is bad for drivers and for the taxpayers of Idaho who will have to pay more for bridge and road repairs.
“I have not talked to a single person in the transportation industry that is for this because of the safety concerns,” said Wally Burchak, part-owner of KBC Trucking in Kooskia.
The Spokesman reported, Former state Rep. Dick Harwood told the committee, “Up in North Idaho, most of our roads are two-lane, narrow roads. … There’s 110 corners from St. Maries to Plummer, I’ve counted ’em many times.”
