State takes a new tack in truck regulation

Survey first step in formulating new rulesfor big rigs on roads like Route 206

By Audrey Levine Staff Writer
   A survey of trucks on Route 206 conducted last week may is the first step in a state effort to limit truck traffic on the roadway.
   The New Jersey Department of Transportation conducted the surveys Oct. 23 at the Hillsborough VA Depot on Route 206, collecting information on the origins and destinations of large trucks traveling on the highway in Hillsborough.
   According to Erin Phalon, spokeswoman for the DOT, the results of the survey have not yet been released.
   All commercial trucks traveling south on Route 206 were detoured into the VA Depot, where state police officers collected details on the drivers’ planned routes of travel.
   Ms. Phalon said the survey, which was also done at Bridgepoint Road in Montgomery Township, is part of the DOT’s regional surveys to look at truck volume and traffic patterns through the towns. She said this was the first step in a five-year project that is looking at large truck traffic through Somerset and Mercer counties.
   ”There was no specific incident that triggered the need for this project,” she said. “The DOT identified the need for information on the number of trucks traveling on the roadways to better traffic patterns.”
   According to the DOT Web site, after 1999, 102-inch wide standard trucks and double-trailer truck combinations that did not begin or end their trips in New Jersey were banned from traveling on all intrastate highways, which are narrower roads such as Route 206, Route 27 and Route 31.
   In 2000, a Tennessee-based trucking company called The American Trucking Association and U.S. Xpress, filed a lawsuit challenging these regulations and, in 2004, a federal court ruled the truck limits unconstitutional, saying it discriminated against interstate commerce. In 2006, the DOT repealed the 1999 regulations.
   Ms. Phalon said the DOT is in the process of developing new regulations based on its findings from this survey and information learned during this five-year project.
   These proposed new regulations would require all 102-inch-wide trucks to always remain on the designated National Network, which includes highways such as the N.J. Turnpike, except for when truck drivers need food, fuel or repairs.
   The National Network is comprised of mostly interstate highways in New Jersey on which 102-inch trucks and double-trailer truck combinations can travel.
   ”The DOT will monitor the truck volume for five years,” she said.