[Vision2020] Megafreeloaders

Ron Force rforce2003 at yahoo.com
Wed Feb 1 07:16:19 PST 2012


February 01, 2012
Our View, Idaho Transportation Department: Sharing the roads with megafreeloaders
 - Idaho Statesman
When it comes to the oversized truck shipments known as “megaloads,” everything is big. The size and weight, the controversy, the inconvenience to motorists stuck on the highway at the wrong time — and now, even the taxpayer subsidy.
The Idaho Transportation Department is supposed to recoup costs associated with the megaloads. But according to ITD, proceeds from shipping permits are falling some $645,000 short of covering annual costs.
How’s that for running government like a business?
After hearing this, the Senate Transportation Committee approved a series of fee increases designed to offset the losses.
According to the Lewiston Tribune, the state hasn’t increased its fees for oversized shipments since 2007. A lot has happened over these past five years. The “megaload” issue has exploded into a statewide controversy, with oil companies proposing oversized shipments along a breathtaking and narrow riverside stretch of U.S. 12.
Since the state seems determined to embrace these shipments — claiming economic benefits that are at best questionable — then the least the ITD can do is keep a closer eye on the costs.
“Our View” is the editorial position of the Idaho Statesman. It is an unsigned opinion expressing the consensus of the Statesman’s editorial board.
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