Okla. Admin. Code § 730:50-5-4

Current through Vol. 42, No. 4, November 1, 2024

Section 730:50-5-4 - Overweight permits; specific conditions and restrictions

(a) Unless otherwise specifically required by law, in addition to the applicable General Conditions and Restrictions on Permits as contained in 730:50-5-3 of this Chapter, no overweight vehicle and/or load and no combination of vehicles and/or loads shall be eligible for a permit unless all the following conditions are met:

(1) the permit application is for a single trip only; and

(2) the vehicle and/or load to which the application applies cannot be divided; and

(3) the applicant has justifiably certified that the movement proposed in the application is necessary due to the existence of a specific public emergency requiring the use of the State Highway System and the Executive Director of the Department of Transportation has concurred in the existence of such emergency; and

(4) the route requested constitutes the shortest practicable routing available; and

(5) the overweight vehicle and/or load to which the application applies does not require a fixed single axle loading in excess of 20,000 pounds or 600 pounds per inch and fractional part thereof of nominal tire tread width, whichever is the lesser.

(b) Except as otherwise provided in this subchapter overweight permits shall be required for the movement of vehicles and/or loads exceeding 80,000 pounds or any of the provisions of federal Formula "B" or Table "B", when proposed for movement on the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways and for the movement of vehicles and/or loads exceeding 90,000 pounds or any of the provisions of federal Formula "B" or Table "B", when proposed for movement on any other portion of the State Highway System.

(c) In accordance with the Federal Highway Administration interpretation of 23 U.S.C. § 127 longer combination vehicles, (LCV's) which are defined in § 127(d)(4) as any combination of a truck tractor and two or more trailers or semitrailers which operates on the Interstate System at a gross vehicle weight greater than 80,000 pounds in accordance with Federal Weight Formula "B" shall be allowed to operate on the Interstate System in Oklahoma at a gross vehicle weight of not to exceed 90,000 pounds, if the LCV configuration was in regular or periodic operation as permitted by the Executive Director of the Department of Transportation. LCV's shall be subject to all other requirements provided for by federal law, state law and this subchapter. The Federal Highway Administration requires that any LCV operating on the Interstate Highway in the State of Oklahoma at a gross vehicle weight in excess of 80,000 pounds, but not exceeding 90,000 pounds, first obtain from the Executive Director of the Department of Transportation a special annual divisible load permit for such operation on the Interstate Highways.

(d) The gross permittable axle weight on any axle which is capable of being lowered for use in supporting a load or retracted from such use by controls located in or accessible from the vehicle cab, shall not exceed the lesser of 8,000 pounds or the axle manufacturer's gross axle weight rating and no tire on any such axle shall be permitted to carry weights in excess of 240 pounds per inch and fractional part thereof of tread width. All tires on any such axle shall be compatible in size, width and air pressure with the tires on fixed load axles.

(e) No operator shall move any load without a permit which is over the weight limits provided by law.

(f) Maps for Load Posted Bridges on Oklahoma Highway System are available on the Department of Transportation web site and updated within two weeks of when changes occur. The map indicates, at the time of its updating, the locations of all load restricted bridges and highways on the state highway system. The map does not, in any event, constitute a warranty, either express or implied.

(g) All applications shall be entered into the Department of Transportation automated overload permitting system and shall indicate all proposed axles, axle spacings and weights, the inner bridge dimensions, gross vehicle weight, vehicle width, height and length, origin, destination, and the proposed routing, and shall be referred in writing to the Department of Transportation for a specific load route review. Based upon the findings of that review, the Department of Transportation shall notify the applicant whether such a permit may be issued or whether such movement will pose an unacceptable risk of damage to the highways and/or bridges of this state or create a hazard to the public safety. Permits for proposed movements which pose an unacceptable risk in the opinion of the Department of Transportation shall be denied.

(h) Overweight load route reviews shall be made by the Department of Transportation's Bridge and Maintenance Divisions. Bridge reviews shall be performed in strict compliance with provisions of the current AASHTO Manual for Bridge Evaluation. The computed stresses for a bridge due to an overweight load proposed for permitting shall not, under any circumstances whatsoever, exceed those specified in said manual; provided, the Department of Transportation may reduce the AASHTO recommended allowable computed stress values where necessary to account for deterioration in any of the structural members of any bridge.

(i) Based upon previously completed load route reviews, the Department of Transportation has compiled and maintains an Overweight Truck Permit Map which is intended for use in permitting the movement of standard configurations of overweight trucks which have been previously studied and are shown on Standard Drawing OL-1. Said drawing indicates the maximum gross vehicle weight and axle group loading, minimum number of axles and inner bridge dimensions for all truck combinations shown. The Overweight Truck Permit Map and the Standard Drawing OL-1 are herein incorporated by reference and constitute an integral part of this subchapter and will be updated by the Department of Transportation not less than once every two years for the purpose of approving or rejecting applications for overweight permits for the movement of indicated vehicles and/or loads without requesting a load route review by the Department of Transportation for the previously studied routes shown on the map. The Department of Transportation reserves the right to add, delete or modify at any time, any routes or portions thereof shown on the map due to any change in the condition of highways relating to their ability to carry such loads, by oral or written notification to the Executive Director of the Department of Transportation or his designated representative. Neither the Overweight Truck Permit Map or the Standard Drawing OL-1 constitutes a warranty, express or implied.

(j) All requests for overweight permits must go through the Department of Transportation automated overload permitting system. Requests must be received a minimum of five working days prior to the date requested for actual movement of the load. Additional time may be required where several bridges are involved. Routes shown in red on said map are incapable of supporting permitted overweight vehicles shown on the Standard Drawing OL-1. Permits may be issued for vehicles shown on Standard Drawing OL-1 on routes shown in green on said map.

(k) Reducing bridge impact loading by restricting the speed of more conventional permit loads shall not be considered by the Department of Transportation where long hauls are to be made by permitted overweight vehicles. Restricted speed will be considered only for extremely short hauls where it can be shown that an alternate means of transportation is not readily available.

(l) The Department of Transportation will review specific routes and bridges for various combinations of oversize and overweight trucks including superloads to determine the probability of specific structures and pavements to support such loads; however, due to unknown factors, such as recent changes in conditions or any other unknown factor, the Department of Transportation shall not warrant, guarantee or certify that a particular overweight load or superload can be safely moved over any route without incurring a substantial risk of structural failure to the paving surface or bridge structure due to the higher level of stress permitted for these oversize or overweight loads and no such warranty, guarantee or certification is hereby expressed or implied. The Department of Transportation reserves the right to require an evaluation of potential damage to the pavement on a specific route. A superload is defined as any overweight permit load that exceeds the Standard Drawing OL-1 trucks described in paragraphs (i) and (j) of this subsection. If the route has not been studied previously for the proposed superload, a detailed structural analysis will be required to check each bridge to be crossed by the proposed superload to determine if adequate safety factors exist in the bridge to assure that damage will not occur unless it can be shown by a comparative analysis that it will not exceed stresses developed by OL-1. Bridge stress and safety factors shall be in strict conformance with paragraph (h) of this subsection.

(m) Superloads with dual lanes axles may be considered as separate side-by-side axles for analysis and permit purposes as shown by the Oklahoma Department of Transportation Standard Drawing OL-1. Superloads with dual lanes meeting the following requirements will be reviewed by the Oklahoma Department of Transportation for specific routes:

(1) Each axle shall include a minimum of four (4) tires and not exceed 20,000 lbs. or 600 lbs. per inch and fractional part thereof of nominal tire tread width, whichever is the lesser. No more than one axle per lane will be allowed for dual lane configurations.

(2) The dual lane configuration has a minimum out to out width of 16'-0" regardless of the type of equipment being used.

(3) The Gage, "G", between consecutive dual wheels on each axle must be a minimum of 4'0" regardless of the type of equipment being used.

(4) The Passing Distance "P", or split inside distance separating axles between centers of inside dual wheels must be a minimum of 4'-0" measured between centers of inside dual wheels regardless of the type of equipment being used.

(5) The minimum longitudinal axle spacing must be 4'6".

(6) The permit application is for a single trip only.

(7) The vehicle and/or load cannot be reasonably modified or dismantled for operation in compliance with all legally defined maximum dimensions.

(8) The load does not exceed 16 feet in width when proposed for operation on the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways during any portion of the trip or 20'-0" on the state highway system.

(9) The height of the vehicle and/or load will clear, by a minimum of two (2) inches, the minimum posted height limitation for any overhead structure. A Vertical Clearance of Bridge Structures Map is produced by and available from the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, but the map does not, in any event, constitute a warranty, either expressed or implied.

(10) The track of the vehicle and/or load does not require the use of highway shoulders and the turning radius of the vehicle and/or load does not require leaving the surface of roadway travel lanes, the travel lanes of interchange loops or ramps, to negotiate turns.

(11) The towing vehicle has sufficient power to move the oversize load safely.

(12) All applications received by the Executive Director of the Department of Transportation for overweight permits shall indicate all proposed axle spacings including gage and wheel spacings, axle spacings and weights, the inner bridge dimensions, gross vehicle weight, vehicle width, height and length, origin, destination and proposed routing, and shall be referred to the Department of Transportation for a specific load route review. As a general rule, increasing the Gage, "G", and the Passing Distance "P", will, in most cases, improve the load distribution and allow larger gross vehicle weights to pass over the bridges.

(13) As a general rule, the allowance of dual lane axles is intended for shorter hauls or, for instances when no other means is available, to move the load and the movement originates or terminates in the State of Oklahoma with the exception given to the panhandle region of the state. In order to minimize disruption to traffic, preference should be given to the use of single lane equipment.

Okla. Admin. Code § 730:50-5-4

Adopted by Oklahoma Register, Volume 40, Issue 24, September 1, 2023, eff. 9/11/2023