Oversize Truck Program to Roll on through June

After a successful first year, a Connecticut Department of Transportation (DOT) pilot program allowing oversize or overweight trucks to transport products and equipment on weekends will be extended for another six months.

Set to expire on Dec. 31 but now continuing to June 30, the program allows certain oversized trucks to travel between daylight and noon on Saturdays and Sundays.

Discussions last year between DOT and a coalition including CBIA, the Motor Transport Association of Connecticut, and the Connecticut Construction Industries Association resulted in the pilot program. 

The coalition sought some flexibility in the state law that bans oversize-overweight vehicles from traveling at night, on weekends, and up to a half-day before each holiday. Connecticut is one of the most restrictive states in the nation when it comes to travel hours for those vehicles.

Months with holidays falling mid-week were causing logistical nightmares for manufacturers or construction companies attempting to deliver large products or equipment to their customers or worksites. 

Attendees at CBIA’s transportation conference in Stamford last month praised DOT officials for the pilot program, noting that the program had provided their businesses with some much-needed relief.   

Business leaders said the added flexibility in delivery times was helpful and that Connecticut commuters were also being rewarded with less overall truck-traffic congestion. 

The program’s extension is good for the business community and commuters alike. Even small changes like this go a long way toward making Connecticut a better place to do business.  

For more information, contact CBIA’s Eric Gjede (860.244.1931; eric.gjede@cbia.com; @egjede).