The House passed a 9-month extension of the current federal highway program that would halt the heavy-truck pilot program in Maine and Vermont.


The measure does not include language to extend or make permanent the one-year program that allows trucks weighing up to 100,000 pounds to use Interstate highways in those states. It is part of a larger Continuing Resolution that would fund the federal government until September 30, 2011.

There is a possibility that the Senate can reinstate the program in its version of the Continuing Resolution this week, said John Runyan, Executive Director of the Coalition for Transportation Productivity. CTP is 175-member group of carriers and shippers that is working on Capitol Hill to raise the federal truck weight limit.

The champion of the issue on the Senate side is Maine Republican Susan Collins, who was instrumental in getting the pilot approved initially. "We are hopeful that Sen. Collins can prevail and with the support of her colleagues get this inserted into the Senate version," Runyan said.

If she is not successful, the pilot will expire December 17.

Collins herself said she is not sure the Senate can make the fix. "Given the time constraints and voting rules in the Senate, it is unlikely that we can restore the truck weights language that the House took out, thus jeopardizing the fate of what has been a successful pilot project," she said in a statement.

She said that permanent clearance for the heavier trucks to use Interstate highways in Maine is one of her top priorities. "The pilot project, that I authored, has clearly provided economic, energy, and environmental benefits and has made our secondary roads and many downtowns safer. That is why the President agreed to my request to include a provision to make the pilot project permanent in his proposed CR," she said.

A champion of the measure on the House side, Rep. Mike Michaud, D-Maine, expressed continuing support for the program in a statement.

"I remain hopeful that our allies in the Senate can work across the aisle to ensure that the permanent extension of Maine's truck weight pilot program is included in the final bill," he said.

"I've weighed in with the Senate Republican and Democratic leaders, and I encourage Maine and Vermont's entire delegations to do the same. This might be the last chance for this to pass before the program is set to expire on the 18th of this month."