Representative Ashley Carrick (House District 35) recently introduced House Bill 305 “An Act relating to vehicle weight limits and providing for an effective date”.
Senator Scott Kowasaki (Senate District P) introduced the companion bill, SB218, in the Senate.
Both bills amend AS 19.10.060 by adding new subsections to read:
(d) Except as provided in AS 19.10.065, the loaded gross weight of a vehicle or combination of vehicles on a highway under the department’s jurisdiction may not exceed 140,000 pounds without a permit issued in accordance with this section.
(e) The department shall charge a fee for a permit to exceed the weight in (d) of this section to offset the costs to the state to keep the roadway surface and other roadway structures, including bridges, in a condition to accommodate heavy loads and the administrative costs related to issuing the permits and conducting enforcement. The department shall calculate the permit fee based on the criteria in this subsection, the vehicle’s equivalent single axle load, and the distance traveled. In this subsection, “equivalent single axle load” means the amount of damage to highway pavement structures equivalent to one pass of a single 18,000 pound dual-tire axle with all four tires on the axle inflated to 110 pounds per square inch.
ASAH is tracking these bills and will provide updates as they become available.