United States Department of Transportation
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Edition:Final Report
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Abstract:Federal and state laws limit the legal maximum gross vehicle weight of commercial vehicles operated on a highway network. The operator of a vehicle wishing to operate above these weights must obtain a permit prior to travel from the jurisdiction(s) to be entered. For travel on state and US highways, state statutes and regulations govern the allowable weights, place restrictions on distribution of those weights across axles, and set travel restrictions. On the Interstate Highway System, however, federal law governs allowable weights. Current federal law limits gross vehicle weight on most interstate highways to 80,000 pounds when distributed across five or more axles. The objective of this report is to support the policy analysis of the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) as to whether to allow overweight nondivisible loads in sealed shipping containers onto the Interstate Highway System between the Mariposa Port of Entry and the Port of Tucson (and in the reverse direction). The project addressed three questions. First, was the estimated infrastructure cost due to damages that would be incurred by ADOT if it allowed heavier permitted vehicles in the study area in addition to the existing flow of permitted nondivisible vehicles. The research considers the expected infrastructure impacts to structures and pavements of a potential overweight nondivisible load permit for sealed shipping containers in intermodal travel utilizing the corridor between the border with Mexico at Nogales and Metropolitan Tucson on interstate highways. The second question was what fees would be necessary to recapture the cost of any infrastructure impacts. The third question was what would be the potential techniques and technologies for ensuring compliance in the study corridor should a permit program be implemented. The project team calculated the cost of mitigating the resulting damage using ADOT-provided unit cost values. The estimated cost of mitigation was between $5.18 and $5.38 per equivalent single-axle load mile. In addition to the direct costs of the permit, additional items are important for determining the permit fee. This report addresses four of the most common costs considered in the fee setting process: project overhead, permitting technology, increases in enforcement, and increases in program administration. The report recommends using four principles to govern the structure and compliance requirements of the permit: generally, that the origin or destination of the permitted vehicle be an intermodal facility; that the permit be used for a single trip; that the carrier provide information adequate to document compliance with federal policies; and that no additional permit be issued if the existing Mariposa Point of Entry permit can be issued for the trip.
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