Dear Mayor:

Last week the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) proposed new restrictions upon the permitted routes for 102-inch wide standard trucks and double-trailer truck combinations.

This rule proposal is the culmination of 9 months of hard work and negotiations by a joint task force chaired by NJDOT and consisting of affected constituencies including the League of Municipalities.  The task force was assembled in February 2006 in response to the decision of the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold a lower court’s finding that New Jersey’s 1999 truck routing regulations violated the provisions of the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

The task force believes the proposed rules will pass muster with the Courts by applying routing restrictions equally to both interstate and intrastate double-trailer truck combinations and 102-inch wide standard trucks.  The proposed rules balance the safety of our residents with the need to provide an efficient and economical roadway network for the trucking industry.

These rules establish a clear hierarchy of roadways for truck travel in New Jersey and are intended to keep large trucks on the appropriate highways such as the Interstates or State Highways.  The proposed rules require large trucks to utilize the National Network unless seeking food, fuel, rest, repairs, or to reach a terminal by the direct route, which is the shortest travel distance. Upon completing each trip, a large truck will be required to return to the National Network in a manner consistent with reaching its next terminal. Trips off of the National Network or the New Jersey Access Network onto all other local unrestricted roadways should only be for the purpose of accessing a terminal on those roadways by the shortest distance.

The rule proposal is scheduled to appear in the December 18, 2006 New Jersey Register, followed by a 60-day public comment period. The rule proposal may be viewed by visiting http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/press/2006/documents/ruleproposal.pdf.