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April 6, 2000 9:00 AM, EDT

A bill that would allow more cargo in semitrailers languishes in Congress as supporters marshal forces to work for its passage.

A state could, under the proposed Safe and Efficient Transportation Act, allow six-axle tractor-trailer combinations of 97,000 pounds to roam the Interstate highway system.

The 1982 Surface Transportation Assistance Act set the maximum at 80,000 pounds on roads supported by federal tax money. However, many states, under grandfather rights, issue permits for higher weights on certain combination vehicles, in some cases to gross vehicle weights of 129,000 pounds.

Americans for Safe and Efficient Transportation wants passage of the bill to eliminate the need for the special permits and exemptions. The heavier gross is needed to make trucking more efficient and meet the anticipated increase in freight volume in years to come, said John McQuaid, co-chairman of ASET.

For the full story, see the Apr. 3 print edition of Transport Topics. .