Connecticut representatives are praising new federal transportation laws which allow states to issue weight exemptions to dairy trucks.
In a recent press conference, U.S. Representatives Joe Courtney and Elizabeth Esty, both Democrats, lauded provisions in the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST)Act that allows states to increase load capacity for dairy trucks from 80 to 100 percent.
“I was vey pleased that we were able to get this important change for our dairy farmers included in the federal transportation bill last month,” Courtney says in a press release posted on Esty’s website.
Courtney, the Congressional Dairy Caucus co-chair, says the new weight waiver will save time, money and reduce traffic since fewer trucks will be used to haul milk.
Esty, a co-sponsor to a FACT Act amendment allowing for the new dairy truck weight permits, says safety and security concerns qualify dairy loads as non-divisible.
“Dairy farmer have an economic, social and environment responsibility to ensure their milk products reach their consumers safely,” Esty says. “Both dairy farmers and consumers benefit fiscally and environmentally from the changes in this amendment.”
Weight restrictions in Connecticut are based on the number of axles a truck has and the distance between them, reports hartfordbusiness.com. Milk trucks transport 50,000 to 55,000 lbs. of milk each day, a Cornell University study finds.
