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News Release
March 11, 2011

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Minnesota Department of Transportation
Rochester District 6
2900 48th Street
Rochester, MN 55901

 

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Highway 43 Bridge receives extra enforcement for overweight vehicles 

 

ROCHESTER, Minn. — The Minnesota Department of Transportation has requested and is receiving extra enforcement from State Patrol Commercial Vehicle Operations to issue citations regarding overweight restrictions on the Highway 43 Bridge over the Mississippi River in Winona.

Last June, weight restrictions were put into effect to reduce stresses to the bridge and the need for additional repairs beyond the annual routine maintenance. Only legal loads (80,000 lbs. or 40 tons gross weight) are allowed and will remain in place until the bridge is rehabilitated or replaced, beginning in 2014.

In 2009, MnDOT had installed Weigh-in-Motion sensors and cameras on the approach to the bridge as part of a statewide program to better understand patterns of traffic entering and exiting the state. These sensors have indicated that a significant volume of overweight trucks are crossing the bridge, despite the posted signs.

During the last six months of 2010, more than 12,000 vehicles were detected that were over the legal limit.  Of those, nearly 1,500 vehicles weighed between 45-55 tons and 12 vehicles were more than 55 tons. The highest recorded was approximately 90 tons. “Continued overloading may result in more frequent repairs and additional traffic interruptions or other measures,” said Craig Falkum, MnDOT District 6 Structures engineer.

Citations for this violation involve a mandatory court appearance. 

Visit www.dot.state.mn.us/d6/projects/winonabridge/index.html for more information regarding the Winona Bridge (Highway 43) project.

For statewide construction and travel information, visit www.511mn.org or call 5-1-1.

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