Trucking industry leaders are urging Gov. Chet Culver to veto House File 2512, recently passed legislation that would increase approved truck weights on Iowa county roads from the current 80,000-pound limit to 96,000 pounds for trucks configured with one to two additional axles.

If enacted, the proposed legislation would create hazardous conditions on the state’s secondary roads, according to the Iowa Motor Truck Association (IMTA).

“This legislation is ill-conceived and jeopardizes the safety of all Iowans for the benefit of a few who want larger load limits,” IMTA President Brenda Neville said in a press release. “A 20 percent increase in weight creates significant safety issues, especially with these heavy loads restricted to our worst roads.”

The Agribusiness Association of Iowa, however, contends that better distribution of loads on additional axles will be better for Iowa roads.

“It will create less wear-and-tear than traditional loads,” said Mark Reisinger, the association’s CEO, told the Business Record. “This was supported actively by the Iowa County Engineers Association and the Iowa State Association of Counties, who are the people who have to figure out how to pay for the roads. Any engineer will tell you, it’s not the total weight, it’s the weight on the tires or axle that causes the road wear. So they’re saying, if you’re going to increase the weight, this is the way to do it.”

The new regulations do not apply to trucks operating on interstate highways, where federal legislation limits weights to the 80,000-pound standard. The new rules only pertain to the state’s secondary road system, including gravel roads and county highways. These roads are not designed to the same standards as interstate highways in terms of lane widths, bridge widths and ratings, curves, hills, shoulders, passing distances and other safety features, the trucking association said.

The new law also would remove the requirement for drivers of these larger rigs to hold a commercial drivers license, the IMTA said.

“In essence, the new legislation provides an incentive for the heaviest loads in the state to move to the roads least able to accommodate these huge trucks, and it allows for an untrained driver behind the wheel,” said Bob Kohlwes, IMTA chairman and president of BTI Special Commodities Inc., said in a press release.

Reisinger, however, said the legislation does not change existing state law, which permits farmers to transport loads on their own vehicles within 150 miles of their farms.