Thomas Mott Osborne: “In 1991, the ISTEA Act froze truckload and length limits at existing levels at the State level. Nebraska's length limit…”

“In 1991, the ISTEA Act froze truckload and length limits at existing levels at the State level. Nebraska's length limit at that time was 65 feet. Unfortunately, or fortunately, in Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Montana, all surrounding States, the length limit was 80 feet-plus. Over the last 14 years, custom harvest equipment has grown larger, and so the average length of the custom harvest load is about 80 feet. The custom harvest starts usually in Oklahoma, goes through Kansas, Colorado, Nebraska, the Dakotas, on up into Canada; and so the problem is that these loads start out at a length of 80 feet. When they hit the Nebraska border, the trailer is dropped off, and at that point we bring the combine into Nebraska. Then the truck has to go back and pick up the trailer, the header, go back to the site, and that hopscotch maneuver continues all across the State. If they have 10 different polices where they are going to harvest, they have to make 10 different dual hauls, and this happens all the way up to South Dakota. The average custom harvester is traveling an extra 3, 4, sometimes 500 miles doubling up, trying to get his equipment across the State of Nebraska. What we are asking here is an amendment that requests that the State of Nebraska be given authority to change the State statute lengthening loads from 65 to 81.5 feet. We think this is reasonable.”