June 8, 2010 AASHTO SCOHT Annual Meeting

What I’m Not  The “I hate big trucks guy” Not anti-truck or even anti-big truck Not anti-truck or even anti-big truck  Engineer – pavement, bridge, or other  Railroad spokesperson  Wildcat or Tiger  Indifferent To industry – shippers or trucking To industry – shippers or trucking To your challenge To your challenge

Coalition Against Bigger Trucks  National grassroots non-profit  100+ campaigns, nearly 20 years  Expected & unexpected allies Law enforcement & safety groups Law enforcement & safety groups Truck drivers & independent owner-operators Truck drivers & independent owner-operators AAA clubs AAA clubs State & local elected officials State & local elected officials Environmental, public interest, & taxpayer groups Environmental, public interest, & taxpayer groups

More Than Maine  97,000 pounds, 6 axles nationwide at state option (HR 1799)  Pilot programs in Maine and Vermont  129,000 pound LCVs in Idaho (S & S. 398)  96,000 pound, 6- or 7-axle in Iowa  88,000 pounds, 5-axle in Florida  LCV resolutions in Colorado, Idaho

Issues with TSW Increases  Safety  Infrastructure damage Pavement Pavement Bridges Bridges  Underpayment  Energy & environment

Issue: Safety  Longstanding, significant concerns Rollover Rollover Off-tracking Off-tracking Braking Braking Crash severity Crash severity Systems effects Systems effects  Enforcement challenges TSW increase would raise the bar TSW increase would raise the bar  Ongoing need for more complete data

Issue: Infrastructure Damage  Increased pavement damage  Bridges Half of NHS bridges >40 years old Half of NHS bridges >40 years old 25% of US bridges are deficient 25% of US bridges are deficient “According to FHWA, it would cost $140 billion in 2006 dollars to immediately repair every bridge that is deficient in the country” (AASHTO, 2008) “According to FHWA, it would cost $140 billion in 2006 dollars to immediately repair every bridge that is deficient in the country” (AASHTO, 2008) Ongoing need for more complete data Ongoing need for more complete data ○ LTBP funded by SAFETEA:LU at 1/4 requested amount (and is “long-term”)

Bridges & SETA  2000 DOT Study estimated $50-$63 billion bridge costs for NAFTA scenario  H.R includes HVUT increase, but it’s inadequate At most, HVUT would generate ≈$500 million per year At most, HVUT would generate ≈$500 million per year  Posting violation rate as low as 2.5% results in significant loss in reliability (ASCE, 2005) If posting not strictly enforced, reliability benefits of posting can almost vanish (ASCE, 2001) If posting not strictly enforced, reliability benefits of posting can almost vanish (ASCE, 2001)

Issue: Underpayment  Premise: vehicles should pay for the damage attributable to their operations  Federal cost allocation study showed significant heavy truck underpayment

Full Cost Recovery ($/mile)

Full Cost Recovery ($/gallon)

80K, 5-axle v. 97K, 6-axle ($/mile)

80K, 5-axle v. 97K, 6-axle ($/gallon)

Issue: Environment  Bigger trucks use more fuel, emit more pollutants  Bigger trucks don’t mean fewer trucks ATRI only refers to fully-loaded trucks ATRI only refers to fully-loaded trucks ATRI looks mainly at highway operations ATRI looks mainly at highway operations ATRI doesn’t contemplate rail diversion ATRI doesn’t contemplate rail diversion

Bigger Trucks ≠ Fewer Trucks

Rail Diversion  US DOT 7% loss of car miles 7% loss of car miles 50% loss in contribution 50% loss in contribution  TTX 25% of intermodal and carload traffic 25% of intermodal and carload traffic  Martland 44% short line merchandise traffic 44% short line merchandise traffic 17% overall short line traffic 17% overall short line traffic

Rail Diversion  Montreal, Maine, & Atlantic Railway Predominantly served forest products industry Predominantly served forest products industry Not profitable, filed for abandonment Not profitable, filed for abandonment  San Luis & Rio Grande Railroad CO now allows110K, 7-axle on state roads CO now allows110K, 7-axle on state roads 20% of bulk cargo diverted to highways 20% of bulk cargo diverted to highways  Brownsville & Rio Grande Int’l Railroad TX allows heavier trucks between Mexican border and Port of Brownsville TX allows heavier trucks between Mexican border and Port of Brownsville Lost nearly all of southbound traffic Lost nearly all of southbound traffic

SHIPA (H.R / S. 779)  Close permitting loopholes  Extend weight freeze to NHS  Extend LCV freeze to NHS  Freeze trailer length at 53 feet  NO ROLLBACKS  Develop a model fine system

Federal Legislative Situation  Conflicting stand-alone bills  Unlikely to be addressed outside of reauthorization  Requests to extend pilot projects have been submitted to Appropriations Committees