Because of heightened terror alerts issued by the United States Department of Homeland Security, Connecticut authorities are entering all commercial trucks and some privately owned trucks that enter the state.
Gov John G Rowland last week announced around-the-clock inspections at the state’s five truck-weighing stations at Greenwich, Union, Danbury, Middletown, and Waterford as part of the state’s beefed-up security efforts because of the war against Iraq.
Rowland said additional inspections have been ordered for “any truck capable of carrying weapons of substantial size.”
“The members of the truck squad have a lot of expertise and know what fits and doesn’t fit and know what they’re looking for,” Sgt J Paul Vance, spokesman for the state Department of Public Safety, told The Stamford Advocate.
The New York Police Department has increased its patrols at bridges and tunnels. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the Lincoln and Holland Tunnels and the George Washington Bridge, has also stepped up truck inspections and is counting on help from New Jersey state troopers.