Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Public Works sign
Gathered Monday at the county Public Works Department offices, Mark Storey, Public Works director, at left, confers with Jeff Stehr, District One road supervisor and Brandon Kruger, right, operations manager, about a prototype of a sign to go up at some county bridges, warning of new single-unit weight requirements.
A question of what to put on a series of road signs has come up at the Whitman County Public Works department.
The process to make a sign advising single-unit truck drivers of new weight limits for 56 bridges arrives as County Bridge Supervisor Bob Sevedge and assistant Chad Kincheloe have completed evaluations on 119 bridges in Whitman County.
A single-unit truck means no trailer. The new limits relate to number of axles, set for truck designs which put more wheels under less payload length — concentrating the weight that a bridge needs to absorb when a vehicle passes over it.
“The main impact will be on really short bridges,” said Mark Storey, Public Works director.
The county has ordered sign blanks and has created a prototype: “WEIGHT LIMIT/SINGLE UNITS/4-7 AXLES/18 TONS.” The 18-ton limit is a stand-in number, and would vary according to bridge, most ranging from 22-29 tons for a limit.
County commissioner Art Swannack asked Storey a few questions Monday at their regular meeting.
“Is there a picture (on the sign)?” said Swannack. “Then you’re gonna confuse people.”
Storey explained further about why it was decided that no truck graphic would appear on the sign. While deciding what to include – for which no federal guidelines were available – Storey and staff worked to convey the message as simply as possible. How many axles would you put in the picture? Do drivers know what single-unit means?
“Anyone driving a truck should have enough knowledge of the rig, what they’re driving,” Storey said.
Swannack wondered about farmers and temporary harvest drivers.
“The contractors, cement mixers, they’re the ones that better be up on it,” said Storey.
Signs, once finalized, are set to go up in the next two to three weeks. Storey invited commissioners to come look at the prototype.
“They’ll have six months until harvest,” Storey said of farmers noting the signs. “They’ll seed across those bridges, fertilize.”
The weight limits come into play by the Washington State Department of Transportation’s maximum tonnage per axle. On the new single-unit designs, smaller loads that were once carried on a 53-foot standard semi-trailer may now be transported on a 25-30 foot trailer. Professional drivers are required by license to know weight limits. Farmers are exempt from most commercial driver’s license (CDL) requirements.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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