Juneau -- The Alaska House of Representatives Monday passed House Bill 127, which mandates the sale and installation of lightweight studs for use on vehicles weighing less than 10,000 pounds.

"According to the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, Alaska spends $5 million a year to repairs ruts caused by studded tire use," said Representative Beverly Masek (R-Willow), sponsor of HB 127. "Once this legislation takes effect, the State should be able to save as much as $2 million annually due to reduced road wear.

HB 127 takes effect July 1, 2000, giving reasonable lead time for tire companies to prepare their inventories. It is point-of-sale legislation which grandfathers-in studded tires already in use. Lightweight studs are less than 1.3 grams in weight.

"Tests in Finland and Sweden have shown there is no appreciable difference in traction effectiveness between conventional studs and lightweight studs," Masek said. "Furthermore, both types wear at approximately the same rate as tires do and offer a service life of 3-4 winters.

"The bottom line is that this bill will allow us to use some forty percent of the money we now spend to repair stud-related road damage on other improvements throughout the highway system," Masek said.

HB 127 now moves to the Senate.