PORTLAND — The U.S. Senate is poised to consider extending a pilot program allowing heavier trucks to keep on rolling on federal highways in Maine and Vermont.
Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Patrick Leahy of Vermont said Tuesday that they persuaded the Appropriations Committee to include a one-year extension in the Senate spending bill.
Supporters of the program that allows trucks weighing up to 100,000 pounds to use federal highways say it promotes safety by keeping heavy trucks off secondary roads. The program is scheduled to expire on Dec. 18, so the weight limit would go back down to 80,000 pounds.
The provision was missing from a federal spending bill approved by the House last week. Collins and Leahy say the Senate bill comes up for debate this week.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.