The Road Commission for Oakland County (RCOC) Board of Road Commissioners is expected to lift weight restrictions for commercial trucks on its non-all-weather roads effective at 6 a.m., Friday, April 17. Imposed March 13, the restrictions will have been in place for 36 days.
Each spring, in accordance with state law, RCOC reduces the weight limits on these roads as temperatures begin to rise and the ground begins to thaw. As the road subsurface thaws, the non-all-weather roads’ ability to carry weight is reduced, meaning that a weight that wouldn’t affect a road under normal conditions, might now damage the road.
“These restrictions help to ensure that roads last as long as possible, with as few potholes as possible,” explained RCOC Chairman Ron Fowkes.
According to the press release, the restrictions do not affect passenger vehicles. Approximately 2,000 of RCOC’s 2,700-plus miles of roads are non-all-weather.
Weight restrictions are enforced by weighmasters employed by RCOC, the state, local communities or the Sheriff’s Department. Violations of the weight restrictions can result in a citation.
A “truck operators’ map” is available from the Road Commission that shows which roads have weight restrictions. The map is available by calling RCOC’s Department of Customer Services — Permits at (248) 858-4835 or by visiting the department’s offices at the RCOC facility at 2420 Pontiac Lake Road in Waterford Township (office hours are 7:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. weekdays). The map is also available on RCOC’s Web site, www.rcocweb.org (in the “Weighmaster” portion of the “Permits” section).
For a statewide listing of which counties have lifted spring weight restrictions, visit the County Road Association of Michigan (CRA) Web site, www.micountyroads.org.
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