A long-awaited surface transportation funding reauthorization bill is headed for markup in the House Transportation Committee this week. The sweeping legislation touches nearly every corner of America’s surface transportation infrastructure — from roads and bridges to transit, rail, and ports.Most line items won’t be flashy enough to make cable news headlines. Dedicating billions of dollars for highway maintenance, for example, is a political snoozer. But one proposal that would update arbitrary weight limits for semitrucks should wake up Americans and their elected leaders in Washington.Federal requirements that limit the amount trucks can carry haven’t kept pace with the times. Regulations from 1982 — which have only remained in place because of Washington special interests — cap loads well below what modern trucks can safely transport. This means trucks hauling consumer goods and groceries are often significantly empty, putting unnecessary strain on infrastructure.
KEEP AMERICA MOVING: PASS AN INFRASTRUCTURE BILL THAT BUILDS ON WHAT WORKS
How? Because more trucks are needed to move the same amount of goods, American roads are subject to additional wear and tear. As a result, Uncle Sam is effectively subsidizing inefficiency — a sharp contradiction to an administration that has made eliminating wasteful government spending its calling card.
