More than 2,200 local government leaders from across the country are pressing congressional lawmakers to oppose increases in truck size or weight, including heavier single-trailer trucks, according to the Coalition Against Bigger Trucks (CABT).

The effort to keep massive trucks off the highways involves county and municipal officials, as well as public works directors and county engineers from all 50 states, marking a 40 percent increase compared to a similar effort in 2023.

Large shipping companies want to raise the allowable federal weight limit on trucks from the current 80,000 pounds. They are attempting to attach proposals to a critical, must-pass surface transportation reauthorization, commonly referred to as the highway bill.

These include a pilot project for 91,000-pound trucks to assess their crash rate, allowing huge log trucks weighing up to 154,000 pounds, arguably the most dangerous trucks on the road. They also include a proposal that would give governors control over setting interstate weight limits in their states, creating a patchwork of state weight limits that would be devastating to interstate commerce, the nonprofit trucking safety advocate said.

“Local communities across the country feel the impact of policy decisions made in Washington, D.C. Congress needs to understand their decisions have real consequences to local governments, including our budgets,” said Supervisor Jeff Krueger of New Market Township, Minnesota.

The joint letter states, “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.”

Krueger, who also serves as executive director of the Minnesota Association of Townships and on the National Association of Towns and Townships Board of Directors, explained that while these proposals are for interstate weight and length increases, local infrastructure will be impacted.

“It is very simple – trucks do not load and unload on interstates. Whether for gas or meals or to deliver their freight, trucks ultimately make their way onto local roads and bridges. This impacts us all,” he said.

Studies have shown that heavier and longer trucks damage infrastructure, especially bridges.

The U.S. Department of Transportation, in its 2016 Comprehensive Truck Size and Weight Limits Study, recommended against any such increases.

A recent study by CABT, “The Impacts of Heavier Trucks on Local Bridges: 2025 Update,” concluded that over 68,000 local bridges would be put at risk by 91,000-pound trucks, five and a half tons over the current weight limit. The study found the cost to replace those bridges is over $78 billion, a burden on state and local governments.

None of the various proposals to increase truck weight includes any additional funding for infrastructure, the coalition noted.

Kevan Stone, CEO/Executive Director of the National Association of County Engineers, stressed the importance of the local bridge study in light of the proposals Congress is considering.

“A number of our members worked on the initial report and the 2025 update. The results are alarming,” said Stone. “The cost to replace local bridges at-risk from 91,000 pounds has skyrocketed by $18 billion in just two years. Where does that money come from? Not from Washington and state budgets are already stretched. Once again, local taxpayers will have to pay for both funding and public safety.”

“While major corporations will profit, it is local governments who have to figure out how to pay for that damage,” said Johnson County, Texas Commissioner Rick Bailey, an author of the bridges study. “The proposals would destroy our aging, failing, off-system roadways; as highlighted in the study, bridges are at the greatest risk and would not be budgetarily attainable. If lawmakers approve bigger trucks, this is nothing more than Congress creating an unfunded mandate on local governments and our taxpayers. It is not right.”

CABT is a nonprofit grassroots organization with coalitions of approximately 3,000 local supporters in all 50 states. CABT supporters include law enforcement officers, local government officials, truck drivers, motorists, safety advocates, railroads, and trucking companies.