Congress is contemplating increasing truck weights to 91,000 pounds from the current national standard of 80,000 pounds. As mayor of Kentwood and a professional engineer, I am deeply concerned about the surge in heavier trucks that would likely reduce the service life of the country’s already crumbling infrastructure if proposed legislation like H.R. 3372 passes.

Prior to my mayoral duties, which began in 2013, I was Kentwood city engineer for 11 years and before that I worked 15 years in the private manufacturing and design industry for road and bridge construction. My technical design and construction background has formed my professional opinion, and I have multiple concerns about the impact on Michigan infrastructure of the new proposal for heavier trucks.

The first concern is with pavements experiencing multiple axial loads on narrower spacings designed for the heavier trucks. The live load will exude a dynamic load on the road infrastructure that the road cross-section is not necessarily designed to withstand, producing premature failures. Premature failures will place additional challenges on construction budgets that are already stretched attempting to keep our road infrastructure in just good condition. Ultimately, it is the taxpayers who will pay more to keep up with an already desperate road infrastructure situation.

The second concern is for our bridges. More design considerations need to be examined for the overall weight loads versus bridge spans that will be experienced if heavier trucks are the standard.

To address these concerns, the state and federal government must invest in rigorous testing protocols for both concrete and asphalt pavements and ensure the safety of our existing bridge inventory. Implementing test sections with numerous cross-sections and varying loads would provide invaluable data to assess the long-term effects of heavier trucks on pavement surfaces.

Without such research, the proposed heavier truck legislation leaves the country vulnerable to unforeseen consequences, resulting in costly repairs and compromised road safety.

According to TRIP, a national transportation research non-profit, 42% of Michigan’s major roadways are in poor or mediocre condition. But it does not take a research report to know that. Anyone who has driven in Michigan can see the dire state of our roads.

We have immense challenges at every level of government, from small municipal governments to large counties. We have crumbling, aging infrastructure, and the proposals to pay for them are viewed as unpleasant to many.

Michigan lawmakers are challenged with balancing the demands of the freight industry against the potential repercussions for our infrastructure and taxpayers. I am warning state leaders and the rest of the country to learn from Michigan and provide the necessary testing to determine the required design for both pavements and bridges. If not, roads and highways will most certainly suffer, and the revenue needed to fix them will only increase.

— Stephen Kepley, P.E. has served as mayor of Kentwood since 2013 and was the city’s director of engineering and inspections/city engineer for 11 years following 15 years in the private manufacturing design and construction sector.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: My Take: Push for heavier trucks raises concerns for road, bridge infrastructure