INDIANAPOLIS — A local legislator and an area business are supporting state legislation that would allow trucks to specifically carry heavier loads of masonry products on Indiana highways.
Most semi-tractor trailers on Indiana highways have an 80,000-pound weight limit. An exception was made in 2013 for agricultural and steel commodities, and now, an exception for brick manufacturers is being proposed.
The law change is supported by state Sen. Jon Ford, R-Terre Haute, who is asking an interim study committee on roads and transportation to consider a 120,000-pound weight limit for trucks carrying bricks and masonry products. That committee meets Wednesday at the Indiana Statehouse. Ford serves on the committee.
Chris Egge, plant manager of Brampton Brick at Farmersburg, said the state’s four brick manufacturers will be able to reduce their transportation costs if they can send larger loads to distributors. That will make brick more affordable to builders, and will result in increased demand for brick.
“If we were able to be more competitive with our product and get them there more cost effectively, we would see sales go up,” Egge said. That would lead to more jobs and production shifts.
Transportation costs now account for about half of the cost for bricks, Egge said.
The 80,000-pound limit hinders brick manufacturers in shipping more products.
Other building product manufacturers, such as siding and alternative building materials, can ship more product for less, because their products weight less than masonry.
Egge said he can now ship only about 46,000 pounds per truck, because the truck’s weight is factored into the 80,000 pound limit. By going to 120,000 pounds, Egge said he can almost double his load onto one truck, rather than shipping the same amount on two trucks, and incurring twice the transportation cost.
Brampton Brick ships an average of 110 to 120 truckloads of brick per week, Egge said, produces about 100 million bricks per year.
Jenn Kersey of RJL Solutions, a Terre Haute-based lobbying and PR firm hired by Brampton, said road studies show that adding axles to semi trailers will distribute the weight of heavier loads, allowing a load 120,000 pound semitrailer to have less impact on the road surface than an 80,000 pound semi and trailer with only five axles.
Michigan is a neighboring state that allows the 120,000 pound vehicles, Kersey said. But those vehicles cannot enter Indiana without a special permit.
Sen. Ford said experts will testify on Wednesday about the safety aspect of the larger loads.
“There will be less trucks on the road, and more axles which means more brakes,” Ford said.
The safety factor drew the attention of Vigo County Sheriff John Plasse, who said Monday he supports having a more fair weight limit for brick as compared to other commodities such as rolled steel.
“Since steel has the 120,000 pound weight limit, I feel it should be the same for brick,” Plasse said.
The sheriff said he is concerned about what happens when large trucks fail to stop or slow for construction zones or for traffic backups.
Interstate 70 has seen several of those types of accidents in recent years. Most of those were attributed to driver inattention, rather than the weight of the semi and its load, the sheriff said.
Last week, Plasse issued a warning about the impacts of heavier semi-tractor trailer trucks on Indiana roads in advance of the summer study committee meeting on Wednesday.
On Monday, he said he has since learned more about how the issue affects local businesses such as Brampton Brick and that the legislation is proposed only for masonry products.
The Goshen News
Lisa Trigg
09/16/2019