An Act To Provide Equity for Commercial Vehicles on Roads and Bridges in Maine
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 29-A MRSA §2354-C, sub-§1, first ¶, as amended by PL 2015, c. 119, §§1 and 2, is further amended to read:
1. Canadian gross vehicle weight limits. Notwithstanding section 2354, except as provided in subsection 5, the Commissioner of Transportation, in consultation with the Department of Public Safety and the Department of the Secretary of State, is authorized to allow certain commercial vehicles at Canadian gross vehicle weight limits to travel from the United States-Canada border at Calais to Baileyville, from the United States-Canada border at Madawaska to a paper mill at Madawaska and from the United States-Canada border at Van Buren to a rail yard in Van Buren. Vehicles are allowed to travel from the United States-Canada border under the following conditions.
A. The only allowable routes of travel are from the United States-Canada border in Calais north on U.S. Route 1 to Access Road in Baileyville, east on Access Road to Woodland Pulp LLC mill or its successor on Main Street and north on Main Street to the former oriented strand board facility in Baileyville; from the United States-Canada border in Madawaska then directly north or south into the Twin Rivers facility or its successor in Madawaska or up Bridge Street to Mill Street in Madawaska in order to reverse direction; and from the United States-Canada border in Van Buren on Acadian Way, west to Main Street, also designated as Route 1, then north on Main Street approximately 2 miles from the border.
B. Allowable truck configuration is limited to:
(1) A 3-axle truck tractor with a 3-axle semitrailer at a gross vehicle weight of 108,900 pounds. The individual weight distribution maximum limits are as follows: for the steering axle, 12,375 pounds; for the drive axles, 40,500 pounds; and for the semitrailer axles, 58,500 pounds, but in no case may the total of these values exceed 108,900 pounds; and
(2) A 3-axle truck tractor with a semitrailer-semitrailer combination, configured as a B-train double with 8 axles total, at a gross vehicle weight of 137,700 pounds. The weight of the 2nd semitrailer may not exceed the weight of the first semitrailer.
C. Maine axle weight limits, axle group limits, commodity allowances, maximum dimensions and all other commercial vehicle limits and requirements apply, except that the B-train double overall length limit must be not greater than 82.02 feet, or 25 meters.
D. The manufacturer's ratings for gross vehicle weight, axle capacity, brake systems and other components for which a manufacturer's rating is available may not be exceeded.
E. Each truck combination allowed under this section must display a credential obtained for a fee from the Secretary of State. The fee must be established by the Commissioner of Transportation in an amount to cover related administrative costs, compliance monitoring and the additional cost of highway damage resulting from the allowance under this section calculated using accepted engineering practices.
F. The Commissioner of Transportation may revoke the privileges of operation under this section of trucks and trucking companies for cause, including repeatedly exceeding size and weight limits or operating outside the designated route of travel. Revocation by the Commissioner of Transportation is considered a final agency action.
Sec. 2. 29-A MRSA §2354-C, sub-§4, as enacted by PL 2009, c. 326, §2, is amended to read:
4. Monitor; report. The Department of Transportation shall monitor and evaluate the effects of the allowance under this section on road conditions. The Commissioner of Transportation shall submit an initial a report to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over transportation matters for presentation to the Second Regular Session of the 126th Legislature and a final report to the First Regular Session of the 129th Legislature by January 1, 2024. The report must include any findings regarding the effects on road conditions and recommendations for continuance, discontinuance or modification of the allowance under this section. The joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over transportation matters may submit legislation based on the findings and recommendations in the report to the Second Regular Session of the 131st Legislature.
Sec. 3. 29-A MRSA §2354-C, sub-§5 is enacted to read:
5. Exemption for wood. After December 31, 2025, the department may not authorize under this section the routes identified in subsection 1 for the travel of commercial vehicles transporting wood, as defined in Title 10, section 2361-A, subsection 11, at Canadian gross vehicle weight limits that exceed the gross vehicle weight limits established in this chapter. Nothing in this subsection prevents the department from authorizing an entity to operate a specified commercial motor vehicle configuration on a specified route of travel under section 2354-D.
Effective 90 days following adjournment of the 129th Legislature, Second Regular Session, unless otherwise indicated.