Warm winter brings

early road restrictions

Weight limits save wear on thawing roadways

By KURT NESBITT

Journal Staff Writer

SLEEPY EYE -- Sheriff's deputies and Highway Department officials were taken somewhat by surprise when they learned spring load restrictions are coming early this year.

The restrictions are legal measures taken by the Minnesota Department of Transportation to curb the amount of damage done to county roads and trunk highways by semi trucks.

Usually, restrictions are imposed in March. However, thawing weather came so early this year, MnDOT decided to put them into action in late February.

Steve Oakey, a MnDOT engineer who specializes in soils, said the restrictions are necessary for Minnesota and its 87 counties to maintain a key part of their infrastructure.

"When we design roads, we used to have a 9-ton limit," he explained. "If we were to run a dozen five-axle semis across that road, it could do the same damage as 2,500 cars."

When winter comes, ice forms underneath blacktop roads, thereby making them harder. But in spring, when the ice begins to melt, the water trapped underneath a road weakens the blacktop and the grading material underneath it, making it more susceptible to damage when heavy vehicles drive over it. Oakey said the restrictions will last until all the water has melted.

In the meantime, counties are making efforts to restrict the kind of travel that can cause excess wear and tear on roadways.

The Brown County Sheriff's Department recently began development of a load restriction enforcement plan with the Brown County Highway Department and the Nicollet County Sheriff's Department.

Brown County Sheriff Larry Pederson told township board officers recently about the department's efforts. He said BCSD is going to work with the Highway Department to determine which roads need the most enforcement and is also going to share equipment and staff with Nicollet County.

"This is by no means a money-making venture," Pederson said at the meeting in Sleepy Eye last week. "The high cost of repair costs is the reason for this project."

Brown County recently received two heavy-duty road scales, which were purchased by the Brown County Board for $3,350 each last fall. It was the first time the county purchased such equipment, as it previously shared with Nicollet County and will continue to do so less frequently.

Brown County Administrator Charles Enter said the decision to buy the scales was a result of discussions over the Highway Department's resurfacing budget that go back to this past summer, when commissioners and department heads were still ironing out the county's 2002 budget.

"Very obviously, road construction and maintenance is very expensive," Enter said.

County Highway Engineer Wayne Stevens said the actual cost of repairs related to the spring thaw is "a broad statement. It's hard to say." One example he gave is resurfacing -- Brown County spends $75,000 a mile to resurface a road, he said.

"It's hard to put a dollar value on how much it costs," said Stevens.