COEUR d’ALENE — Heavier trucks intended to reduce congestion and improve hauler efficiency may be allowed on U.S. 95 and other North Idaho roadways as soon as this spring.

Commercial businesses are seeking to increase the allowable truck weight maximum from 105,500 to 129,000 pounds.

"The intent behind allowing trucks weighing 129,000 pounds is to combine shipments and reduce the number of trips that trucks are making," said Adam Rush of the Idaho Transportation Department. "Allowing trucking companies to reduce the number of trips they make reduces congestion and improves efficiency."

Haulers are seeking truck weight increases for the 167-mile stretch of U.S. 95 from the Benewah/Latah county line to the Canadian border; 8 miles on Highway 54 from Athol to Spirit Lake; and 20 miles on Highway 41 from Spirit Lake to Newport.

Other requests include 44 miles of Highway 2 in Bonner and Boundary counties and 12 miles of Highway 1 in Boundary County.

Businesses making the requests include Idaho Forest Group, which transports forest products; Doug Andrus Distributing, which hauls road salt for the Idaho Transportation Department, fertilizer and lumber; and Pocock Trucking, which hauls fertilizer from Medicine Hat, Alberta, to Post Falls.

The federal government earlier approved Interstate 90 for 129,000-pound trucks. This is the first time that state highways in the Panhandle have been requested for the heavier rigs.

Approval would allow for fewer loads and less fuel used, which translates into helping the environment, easing congestion and helping Idaho haulers retain their position against competitors from other states and Canada, Idaho Forest Group's Bob Boeh wrote in the company's application.

Jonathan Andrus, of Doug Andrus Distributing, wrote the increase in weight would be a "massive boost to the efficiency of transportation" since U.S. 95 is the major route between Idaho's only seaport (Lewiston) and Canada.

"Many products that are currently shipped out of Canada are routed around Idaho," Andrus wrote. "Approving this route will allow carriers to take the shortest route, bringing them through the state of Idaho.

"Doing so will require them to purchase fuel and pay road taxes in Idaho. It will allow residents and businesses in northern Idaho, including the Idaho Transportation Department, to get the products they need in a more efficient manner and thus lower the cost of goods."

A public hearing on the proposals will be held on Tuesday from 4 to 7 p.m. at ITD, 600 W. Prairie Ave., Hayden.

There are 34 pending route requests for heavier trucks before ITD statewide. Rush said the Idaho Transportation Board and a subcommittee are expected to make a decision on the North Idaho requests in April or May. The public comment period ends March 30.

Truck weights were previously a hot topic at the Legislature as there were concerns that the heavier rigs could damage bridges and roadways.

However, a pilot project approved by the Legislature in 2003 and performed by ITD determined that trucks have enough axles to spread out their weight, lessening the amount of weight per axle on the highway.

"The pilot project that was done before the route application process started determined that the 129,000-pound trucks do not contribute to additional wear and tear on a highway route," Rush said.

Between 2003 and 2007, 35 routes statewide became a part of the pilot project. Those routes became permanent in 2013. At the time the pilot project began, four states that border Idaho (Montana, Utah, Nevada and Wyoming) already permitted trucks with weights greater than 105,500 pounds.

After the pilot route project concluded, ITD and stakeholders created a process whereby trucking and shipping companies could apply to use 129,000-pound trucks on highways.

The proposals are for reducible shipments, meaning shipments that can have cargo such as agricultural and timber products removed to make them lighter. Non-reducible transports are those that can't be reduced in size such as one hauling a piece of machinery.