Trucking news and briefs for Friday, April 5, 2024:
An emergency declaration issued by Maryland Gov. Wes Moore following the container ship collision with and collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore has been extended by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
Moore declared a state of emergency the day of the collapse, March 26. Under federal rules, declarations from state governors can only be issued for two weeks at a time, so Maryland’s declaration was set to expire on April 8.
In a notice published Thursday, FMCSA said the state of Maryland and the Maryland Motor Truck Association asked the agency to extend the emergency relief granted to truck drivers providing direct assistance to the emergency.
“Because emergency conditions, including the sudden and significant disruption of distribution operations, have not abated,” the agency is extending the declaration for a month, through May 8.
FMCSA said in the extension, direct assistance includes:
The agency noted that “direct assistance does not include transportation related to long-term rehabilitation of damaged physical infrastructure or routine commercial deliveries, after the initial threat to life and property has passed, or mixed loads with a nominal quantity of qualifying emergency relief added to obtain the benefits of this emergency declaration.”
