Truck toll lane proposal reviewed on Capitol Hill

Jun 5, 2002 12:00 PM

A new proposal to use barrier-separated, voluntary toll lanes for trucks on the nation's highways is up for review, according to information from the US House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

The lanes would reduce the number of trucks in general-purpose lanes, reduce the number of auto-truck accidents, and save as much as $40 billion in shipping costs each year, according to a study by the Reason Foundation, Los Angles CA. The lanes would permit the use of longer, heavier freight-hauling trucks separate from auto traffic, according to the committee information.

The proposal is slated for unveiling on Capitol Hill Thursday, June 6, by Rep Don Young, (R-Alaska), committee chairman; Robert Poole, Reason Foundation director of transportation studies; Chuck Hurley, vice-president, transportation safety, National Safety Council; and Jim Burnley, former Department of Transportation Secretary. The proposal comes as House discussions heat up surrounding the 2003 reauthorization of the federal surface transportation program (TEA 21). The toll proposal is described as "a new concept that has emerged that may bridge one of the most serious divisions over the future of freight transportation."