October 23, 2025
On October 23, The New York Times published a story discussing C2SMART research on the potential damage that electric-powered trucks could wreak on New York area highways.
Kaan Ozbay, the principal investigator of the study, likened the effects of e-trucks, which are up to 2,000 pounds heavier than diesel trucks, to a patient with heart disease, “they’re not going to die tomorrow, but the effect is cumulative.” Co-PI Jingqin Gao was also featured discussing the study’s aim to gauge how ready the NYC area’s infrastructure is for e-trucks that weigh up to 9,000 pounds.
Though e-trucks currently represent a small percentage of truck sales, C2SMART research predicts a rise of 50% by 2050. One way to curb the cumulative damage inflicted by overweight trucks is to implement weigh-in-motion sensors, like those used on the Brooklyn Queens Expressway. Another C2SMART supported initiative, overweight vehicles have decreased by 60% on the BQE since automated enforcement began last year.
Earlier this summer, NYU Tandon PhD candidate Zerun Liu’s poster “The Effects of Increased Electric Truck Weights on Road Infrastructure,” won first prize in the student poster competition at ITS NY’s annual meeting. See here:
