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The trucking industry is up to its old self. While it may be true that a
loaded truck may exert less pressure on the pavement than a woman in high
heels, one must consider what happens as a loaded truck with tires inflated to
very high pressures and stiff springs do to the pavement as the nongiving
tires hit a small irregularity in the surface or a joint. Repeated pounding on
the surface by the rigid, nongiving tires soon breaks up the pavement and
creates potholes of increasing size.
Many of our highways in Kansas are asphalt. On a hot summer day, a person can
see the groove made by a truck passing over the soft surface. Careful
examination even reveals the tread.
Several years ago I was visiting with a civil engineer in a university in an
adjacent state who had spent some time in New Zealand. He reported that the
highways, build during WW II, were still in excellent condition some 35 or 40
years later. Their longevity attributed to the fact that intercity trucking
was not allowed. Their lack of a continental climate with wide temperature
fluctuations may have also helped preserve their highways. Nevertheless, the
trucking industry tears up our highways and should pay a higher tax for this
privilege.
Roger A. Pruitt
Physics Department--Fort Hays State University
600 Park Street e-mail: phrp@fhsuvm.fhsu.edu
Hays, KS 67601 v-mail: 913-628-5357
----------------------------Original message----------------------------
Yesterday as I listened to the news from Michigan Public Radio, I heard
that the trucking industry is trying to persuade the Legislature to
increase the limits on length and gross weight of trucks.
(I think they are already larger than in most of the states).
The first expert said that a truck at the maximum legal weight
damages the roadway as much as 16,000 cars. (I think I remember
that number correctly).
The other one said that a fully loaded truck puts less force on the
pavement than a woman in spike-heeled shoes, so we needn't
worry about the trucks.
Isn't that interesting?
Clarence