Congressman Is Updating Bill To Limit Truck Size and Weight

March 29, 1999 9:02 AM, EST

Rep. Jim Oberstar said he will try again to expand the freeze on longer combination vehicles, while American Trucking Associations and other industry groups push their agenda on LCVs and other issues in written comments responding to a Department of Transportation report on truck sizes and weights.

In a March 24 interview, Oberstar, the senior Democrat on the House Transportation Committee, said he was updating his legislation.

As introduced in the last Congress, his bill would phase out the use of trailers longer than 53 feet and freeze weight limits on the National Highway System.

A ban on trailers longer than 53 feet would impact 12 states.

Oberstar, who represents Minnesota, also wants to eliminate the ability of states to set truck weight limits above the maximum federal weight of 80,000 pounds. The proposed weight limit would affect 156,000 miles of federal roads, up from 44,000 miles under the current restrictions.

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