Report on Rural Road Released

A new report says rural communities should charge resource industries a fee for wear and tear caused by heavy trucks on roads.

The study by the Frontier Centre for Public Policy says the vehicles cause a disproportionate amount of damage to rural roads and residents living in the country are saddled with the costs of repairs because their municipalities don't have the tax base.

Rural municipalities spend about 40 per cent of their budgets on roads compared with an average of about 17 per cent for cities.