Are all roads closed during heavy haul prohibited travel times?

As a newbie researching heavy haul travel times, I need your help to understand an important route planning issue please. I see that different states have different travel time restrictions for heavy haul loads. For example, some states allow travel only between sunrise and sunset and some states do not allow weekend travel and so on and so forth. During the time that travel is prohibited, does it mean that you absolutely cannot travel on any road in the state? Are there any exceptions? Is travel not allowed even on interstates? Assume that the load is a plain vanilla heavy haul load, not any kind of state or federal emergency load or anything.


As you can imagine, I ask this question from load planning perspective. If a load has to be taken through several states and each state has different travel time restriction, this means that load planning would get quite complicated very quickly as the number of states to be traversed increases. One factor that might mitigate the issue is if travel is allowed on certain routes during restricted travel times and that is what I am trying to understand by asking you the questions above. Your response is appreciated very much.


Regards,


Singh

If it's a oversize load the state or states you are traveling through issued you a permit and each state has a list of provisions on a separate sheet of paper that must be with your permit for that state at all times. If and when you get pulled over or pulled behind a scale house (you will its just a matter of time) make sure you hand the officer the permit and the provision sheet. If you don't have the provision sheet your permit will be voided.

The provision sheet lists all the do's and don'ts for all types of oversize loads. If it says you can or can not be on the road at certain times or days that is what it means. Your permit will have the route that you have to follow issued to you by the state and if it says you have to be off the road at a certain time or certain days that's what you have to do.

Here's a couple examples. Ohio's rules are 55mph for all oversize loads and stay in the right lane. There are certain holidays that you must be off the road by and not allowed back out until a half hour before dawn on another predetermined day which is usually Monday. For example Thanksgiving since its only a few weeks away is off the road Wednesday by noon and not allowed back out until Monday a half hour before dawn(Monday is a guess. It may be Tuesday. Not sure don't have my provisions in front of me right now).
Another example is Kentucky. Boone County which is the most northern county in KY which has I75, I71 and I275 running through it. You are not allowed to take oversize through it between 7am and 9am and 4pm and 6pm on weekdays. This also applies to a few other urban areas of KY including Louisville and Lexington.

Basically what you need to do is read, understand, and do what the provision sheet says for each state you have a permitted route for or a blanket permit for. If it says to stay off the road or out of an area at a certain time that is what you have to do.

If you have a permit for it do what the permit says. No exceptions.

Here it is Monday thru Saturday. From official time of sunrise to official time of sunset. With some stricter time restrictions in some of the bigger cities. That is pretty much all are rules as far as restrictions until you get to super loads.

Also just so you know there is nothing more fun than moving a excavator to an emergency for the fire department and having State Troopers escort you in the rain on a Sunday.

Truck 505, in NC we have the permit on paper and most of the time it is all on one page but, sometimes it is two. As long as the first sheet has the signature line on it and it is signed they don't care about the second sheet.

GPC, if you hand over your permit in OH without the provision sheet they will void your permit. I always give them the provision sheet first then the permit.

I am not sure how the provision sheets work for all states, but i do know I have separate provision sheets for PA, OH, IN, IL, WV and probably a few more. I know KY prints theirs right on the permit and I think NY may do that also, just don't remember that one for sure.

I have been to NC once and boot legged a Komatsu D51P up to Virginia. Its kinda hard to hide a blade that hangs over the passenger side of the trailer about a foot and a half but i guess I did because they never caught me.

I mostly stay around the OH, PA, KY, and IN areas but I do get to sneak out of that area every once in a while when the boss man lets me.

Truck 505, I can't remember the width but, in NC you can get away with just flags on the widest parts of the load if it's not over a certain width. So you wouldn't need a permit or signs or anything just a few flags.

Western Regional Permit Conditions

http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/NR/rdonlyres/456B12AA-AAA4-42B4-8B6F-8D732ACCBB02/0/WRPAppendixC.pdf


Also Western Regional Permit Info

http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/CommercialVehicle/westernregional.htm