Would weight parity on interstate highways improve safety and efficiency of timber transportation in the US South?

Abstract

ABSTRACT In the US, weight limits on interstate highways are established by the federal government while weight limits on other roadways are established by state or local governments. State weight limits for log trucks exceed federal interstate highway weight limits in all major timber-producing states. This disparity discourages log trucks from traveling loaded on interstate highways. This study compared the safety and efficiency of log truck transportation on current routes to routes utilizing interstate highways in eight wood baskets in the US South. Timber harvest and delivery locations were collected from logging businesses, log truck owners, and forest landowners. GPS truck tracking software and ArcGIS were used to estimate travel distance and travel time on optimal interstate routes and current routes that avoided interstate highways. The sample included 907 unique routes from 257 harvest sites. An average of 39% of routes would benefit from interstate highway access and 66% of harvest sites had at least one load that would benefit from interstate access. Evidence suggests that interstate routes would be safer than current routes because log trucks would encounter 41% fewer intersections, 33% fewer stop signals, and approximately one fewer school zone per route. Despite no significant change in average haul distance, interstate highway access would result in estimated cumulative annual travel cost savings of $7.4 million (USD) in the wood baskets analyzed. Findings suggest that allowing state-legal, loaded log trucks to operate on interstate highways would improve the safety and efficiency of timber transportation in the US South.