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cut to Route 29.
When Route 17 was closed for construction a number of years ago, truck traffic through Flint Hill was said to have tripled. The State Police set up mobile scales in Flint Hill and found 25 percent of the tractor-trailers checked had load, equipment, or manifest violations. In 1998, the Washington Post ran an article about Virginia State Police checking 42,000 trucks in 1997. They found more than half defective and 20 percent had to be taken off the road immediately. Maybe things have changed in three years. Maybe not.
Since there is no way to predict what may happen if the Route 17 truck ban is put into effect, it might be best to oppose SB-822. VDOT has already implemented safety initiatives on Route 17 between Route 50 and 1-66, lowering the speed limit from 55 mph to 45 mph and paving the shoulders.
In addition, the abovenoted alternate route has been proposed to the trucking industry. These measures should be given a chance before implementing a truck ban. Other reasons to oppose SB-822, assuming it will cause more 18-wheelers on Rappahannock County roads, are as follows:
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