An Act To Make Permanent the Allowance o'f Certain Commercial Vehicles betWeen the Calais Border Crossing and Baileyville Reference to the'Committee on Transportation suggested and ordered printed.
Maine Legislature, Session 124, LD 1355
Committee: Transportation
Sponsors: PERRY, AYOTTE, BURNS, MARTIN, SOCTOMAH, THERIAULT, TIL TON
Amends: 29-A MRSA §2354-B

MAINE STATE LEGISLATURE 
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124th MAINE LEGISLATU 
Legislative Document 
No. 
S.P.490 
In Senate, April 2, 2009 
An Act To Make Permanent the Allowance o'f Certain Commercial 
Vehicles betWeen the Calais Border Crossing and Baileyville 
Reference to the'Committee on Transportation suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Senato,r RA YE of Washington. 
Cosponsored by Representative PERRY of Calais and 
9r9(J~ 
JOY J. O'BRIEN 
Secretary of the Senate 
Representatives: AYOTTE of Caswell, BURNS of Whiting, MARTIN of Eagle Lake, 
McFADDEN of Dennysville, SOCTOMAH of the Passamaquoddy Tribe, THERIAULT of 
Madawaska, TIL TON of HaITington. 
Printed on fl!cyded papl.!f 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
. 
Sec~ 1. 29-A MRSA §2354-B, sub-§5, as enacted by PL 2005, c. 421, §1 and 
affected by §2,. is amended to read: 
5. Repeal. This section is repealed December 31, WW 2009. 
Sec. 2. 29-A MRS A §2354-C is enacted to read: 
§2354-C. Allow certain commercial vehicles at Canadian weight limits to travel 
,..Jrom the Canadian border at Calais to Baileyyille arid from the Canadian 
border at Van Buren to a rail yard in Van Buren 
1. 
Canadian gross vehicle weight limits. 
Notwithstanding section 2354, the 
Commissioner of Transportation, in consultation with the Department of Public Safety 
and the Department of the Secretary of State, is authorized to allow certain commercial 
vehicles at Canadian gross vehicle weight limits to travel from the Canadian border at 
Calais to Baileyville and from the Canadian border' at VanBuren to a rail yard in Van. 
Buren. Vehicles are allowed to travel from the Canadian border under the following 
conditions. 
A. The only allowable routes of travel are from the United States-Canada border in 
Calais, approximately 1/4 mile south of the intersection of U.S. Route 1 and Route 
214, north on U.S. Route 1 to Access Road in Baileyville, east on Access Road to 
Dointar Woodland Mill or its successor on Main Street and north on Main Street to 
the Louisiana-Pacific Oriented Strand Board mill or its successor in Baileyville; and 
from the United States-Canada border in VanBuren· on Bridge Street, east into the 
rail yard in Van Buren, located approximately 2/1 0 of one mile from the border. 
B. Allowable truck configuration is liinited to: 
(1) A 3-axle truck tractor with a 3-axle semitrailer at a grossvehicle weight of 
108,900 pounds; and 
ID A 3-axle truck tractor with a semitrailer-semitrailer combination, configured 
as a B-train double with 8 axles total, at a .gross vehicle weight of 137,700 
pounds. The weight of the 2nd semitrailer may not exceed the weight of the first 
semitrailer. 
C. Maine axle weight limits, axle group limits, commodity allowances, maximum 
dimensions and all other commercial vehicle limits and requirements apply, except 
that the B-train double overall length limit must be 82.02 feet, or 25 meters. 
D. The manufacturer's ratings for gross vehicle weight, axle'capacity, brake systems 
and other components for which a manufacturer's rating is available may not be 
exceeded. 
E. Each truck combination must display a credential obtained for a fee from the 
Secretary of State. 
The fee must be established by the' Commissioner of 
Transportation in an amount to cover related administrative costs, compliance 
monitoring and the additional cost of highway damage. resulting from certain 
commercial vehicles at Canadian gross vehicle weight limits traveling from the 
Page I - 124LR0991(Ol)-1 
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Canadian border at Calais to Baileyville and from the Canadian border at Van Buren 
to a rail yard in Van Buren, calculated using accepted engineering practices. The· 
Secretary of State shall adopt rules to implement this paragraph in consultation with 
the Department of Transportation and the Department of Public Safety. 
Rules 
adopted pursuant to thisparagraph-nare routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, 
chapter 375, subchapter 2-A. 
F. The Cornm:issioner of Transportation may revoke the privileges of trucks and 
trucking companies for cause, including repeatedly exceeding size and weight limits 
or operating outside the designated route of travel. Revocation by the Commissioner 
of Transportation is considered a final agency action. 
2. Definition. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, "B-
train double" means a truck tractor-semitrailer':'semitrailer combination vehicle in which 
the 2 trailing units are connected with a B-train assembly. The B-train assembly is a rigid 
frame extension attached to the rear frame of a first semitrailer that allows for a 5th wheel 
connection point for a 2nd semitrailer.· This combination has one less articulation point 
than the conventional A-doIly-connected truck tractor-semitrailer-trailer combination. 
SUMMARY 
This bill makes permanent the allowance of commercial vehicles at Canadian weight 
limits to travel from the Canadian border at Calais to Baileyville and from the Canadian 
border at Van Buren to a rail yard in Van Buren. 
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