°®¶¹´«Ã½

An independent scientific review of the Department of Transportation’s truck size-and-weight study largely agreed with original researchers that weaknesses in some of their research models and data hampered meaningful conclusions.

Federal government and university researchers said they are on schedule to complete a congressionally mandated truck size and weight study by mid-November.

The federal government’s truck size-and-weight study began taking shape last week as researchers outlined how they plan to assess whether larger trucks affect highway safety, pavement wear and modal shifts.

The Idaho Department of Transportation will hold public hearings Wednesday and Thursday after a judge said the department must consider complaints about ConocoPhillips’ plan to ship large loads of equipment along winding highway U.S. 12.

WASHINGTON — Trucking industry executives, citing projected U.S. population growth and growing freight demand, said that increasing the productivity of trucks by making them larger or heavier was necessary.