Recently, Advocates for Safe Alaska Highways (ASAH) was contacted by the Coalition Against Bigger Trucks (CABT), a national advocacy group that promotes highway safety and sound transportation policies since 1995. Headquartered in Alexandria, VA, CABT has put out a 2025 update to their report “The Impacts of Heavier Trucks on Local Bridges: 2025 Update“. Heavier trucks endanger motorists, weaken our roads and bridges, and cost taxpayers billions of dollars every year in highway subsidies.
CABT reached out to ASAH to make sure we were aware of the MOVE Act, the heavier truck “Pilot Project” proposals, as well as their efforts to oppose any legislation or federal policy changes that would allow longer, heavier trucks to travel on interstate highways. They are currently gathering signatures on a letter to Congress and ASAH has signed on it.
Here is the wording of their letter:
Dear Members of Congress,
Representing local communities and Americans across the nation, we are concerned about our transportation infrastructure. We strongly oppose proposals in Congress that would allow any increase in truck weight or length. Heavier single-trailer trucks or longer double-trailer trucks would only make our current situation worse.
Local communities and our residents are what drive this country. We work every day to make sure the needs and safety of our residents are met. Allowing heavier and longer trucks will most certainly set us back in our efforts. Much of our transportation infrastructure that connects people to jobs, schools and leisure is in disrepair, in part because local and rural roads and bridges are older and not built to the same standards as interstates. Many of us are unable to keep up with our current maintenance schedules and replacement costs because of underfunded budgets.
The impacts of heavier or longer tractor-trailers would only worsen these problems. Millions of miles of truck traffic operate on local roads and bridges across the country, and any bigger trucks allowed on our Interstates would mean additional trucks that ultimately find their way onto our local infrastructure. Heavier and longer trucks would cause significantly more damage to our transportation infrastructure, costing us billions of dollars that local government budgets simply cannot afford, compromising the very routes that American motorists use every day.
On behalf of America’s local communities and our residents, we ask that you oppose any legislation that would allow any increase in truck weight or length.