Dean Berglund has spent his life trucking, hauling logs and pulpwood throughout the region and for a time, he even operated as a long-haul trucker hauling freight and goods coast to coast.
That said, Berglund has seen convoluted trucking routes in his day, but none worse than the one that directed him to take loads of logs and wood through one of Duluth’s busiest streets.
“Imagine, having to haul heavy loads of wood on Superior Street on those bumpy cobblestones through heavy traffic when there was a safer, better route to follow. What were they [politicians] thinking?” he asked incredulously.
So Berglund, like every other trucker in the Northland, was happy to learn that Representative Rick Nolan pushed for and received an alternate route around the city of Duluth.
As the only Minnesotan serving on the House Transportation Committee, Nolan helped craft the $305 billion, five-year transportation bill that was recently signed into law by President Barack Obama. Folded into that bill is $3.4 billion in state highway funds for Minnesota, as well as language that created the new route around Duluth.
“Significant for our region,” said Nolan, “the new law includes my Duluth logging safety amendment that permits huge logging trucks to avoid the narrow and often snow-covered residential, retail, and commercial thoroughfare of Superior Street—and instead operate on a 24-mile stretch of Highway I-35 from north of Duluth to south of Scanlon, including Highway 210 via Exit 235. It’s a common sense fix—supported by the community, public safety officers and the loggers— that will prevent accidents and undoubtedly save lives.”
Federal regulations used to prohibit logging trucks weighing more than 80,000 pounds from using I-35, but with this amendment logging trucks can carry loads up to 99,000 pounds if they have six axles or more on this 24-mile stretch of road.
Berglund said the new routes is sensible and applauded Nolan for fighting for the change.
“I may write a letter thanking him,” said Berglund. “It’s not every day that a politician actually goes out and gets something done that helps the working man.”
The Transportation Bill law also contains a “Buy American” clause that will increase the use of domestic steel in building rail cars and other American-made products, and it reauthorized the Export-Import bank to help small and medium sized businesses to qualify new international customers and export goods and services throughout the world.
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