S. 2108 — VARIANCE Act

This section establishes an axle weight variance for commercial motor vehicles transporting dry bulk goods (i.e., homogeneous, unmarked, unpackaged, nonliquid cargo in a trailer specifically designed for that purpose) on Interstate highways. Notwithstanding other axle or axle group weight limits in 23 U.S.C. §127(a)—such as 20,000 pounds for a single axle or 34,000 pounds for a tandem axle, including enforcement tolerances—such vehicles may exceed those limits by up to 110 percent (i.e., to 22,000 pounds for a single axle and 37,400 pounds for a tandem axle), except for the maximum gross vehicle weight limitation of 80,000 pounds.