INDIANAPOLIS — In a state known as the “Crossroads of America,” the number of overweight trucks has tripled in less than a decade, accelerating damage to aging roads and bridges.
More than 380,000 trucks that exceed federal weight and size standards were permitted to travel in Indiana last year, up from about 135,000 in 2007. Those numbers are part of the reason why some lawmakers want the trucking industry to pay more for infrastructure.
Under a plan proposed Monday by House Republican leaders, private carriers would pay about 7 percent more for diesel fuel — in taxes and a surcharge — than what they pay now.
The measure is getting surprising support from the Indiana Motor Truck Association, which represents truckers who carry goods from about 80 percent of Indiana manufacturers.
“We’ve been saying at the federal and state level that we need to raise taxes on fuel and fix the roads,” said Gary Langston, association president. “We’ve been saying that for a long time.
"Bad roads and congested highways cost us money,” he said.
The House Republican plan would automatically adjust the state’s fuel tax for inflation, resulting this year in a 4-cent hike on a gallon of gasoline for all motorists, including truckers who use diesel fuel.
It also raises the motor-carrier surcharge, paid quarterly by trucking companies, by another 3 cents per gallon.
Those increases combined are expected to raise $60 million a year for road and bridge repair. It’s just a fraction of the $1 billion needed in for infrastructure, but supporters say it will make a dent.
In addition, the measure allows local governments to charge a higher “wheel tax” on buses, trailers and trucks that are licensed in their counties. Under current law, truck-owners pay the same as car-owners.
House Ways and Means Chairman Tim Brown, R-Crawfordsville, said the plan acknowledges that trucks create more wear on roads than cars.
A Purdue University study found a single, 40-ton truck can do as much damage to roadway pavement as 9,600 cars.
Last week, an overweight truck broke a one-lane, 133-year-old bridge in small town Paoli. Police said the driver, carrying 43,000 pounds of bottled water, tried to cross a bridge with a weight limit of 6,000 pounds.
The broken bridge, costing about $1 million to repair, is an extreme example of truck damage, said Rep. Steve Davisson, R-Salem, whose district includes Paoli.
“But, every day, heavy trucks are beating the dickens out of highways and bridges,” he said. “So the question is, ‘Are they paying enough for maintenance of our roads?’ ”
Under current law, Indiana requires any vehicle over 40 tons to acquire a special permit that certifies the load is properly configured to minimize roadway damage. The state charges $55 for an overweight permit, plus up to $1 per mile for loads that exceed the 40-ton weight.
Those fees won't change under the proposed plan.
What may lie ahead, though, is a crackdown on trucks that fail to pay. Since January 2013, State Police have issued 13,000 tickets to drivers of illegally overweight trucks and another 11,000 warnings.
Police worry they may only be catching a fraction of offenders. In response, transportation officials are launching a pilot project this spring to determine how many illegally overweight trucks are passing through the state.
The project will use cameras, and a weight-and-motion sensor embedded in a section of busy Interstate 94 in northern Indiana, to track heavy trucks and capture their license plate numbers. If successful, the technology could be used throughout the state to issue fines for violators, transportation officials say.