News Release

ST. PAUL, Minn.- The Minnesota Department of Transportation announced today that spring load restrictions will take effect in the south, southeast and eight-county Twin Cities metropolitan area frost zones at 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday, March 23. Winter load increases will end at 12:01 a.m. on March 24 in the central frost zone and restrictions will go into effect in the central zone on March 25. Spring load restrictions in the north central and north frost zones will be announced as temperatures dictate.

Spring load restrictions restrict the weight on any single axle on all non-exempt trucks and commercial vehicles to a maximum of five tons on non-concrete state highways, county highways, town roads and city streets unless otherwise posted.

Locations of weight restricted routes, frost zone designations, state highways open to maximum ten-ton axle weights and current updates regarding spring load restrictions can be found on the Web at http://www.mrr.dot.state.mn.us/research/seasonal_load_limits/sllindex.asp or call 1-800-723-6543 (toll free) or 651-406-4701.

Mn/DOT uses actual and forecasted daily air temperatures to determine the placement and removal of spring load restrictions. As a result, the end of spring load restrictions is no longer fixed at eight weeks. Start and end dates of load increases and restrictions are posted on the Web at least three calendar days in advance.

Road preservation

Spring load restrictions help preserve roadways when the pavement is weakened due to partial thaw conditions and trapped water. Mn/DOT estimates the restrictions result in an annual savings of more than $10 million. In Minnesota there are about 39,000 miles of paved roads that should be restricted to lower loads during the spring.

As soon as a date is set, Mn/DOT will publish those dates on a 24-hour taped message at 1-800-723-6543 for the USA and Canada (local calls from Minneapolis/St Paul at 651-747-2253), The information is also published on the Mn/DOT Seasonal Load Limits website: www.mrr.dot.state.mn.us.

Traveler information, including incident reports, is available by calling 511 or logging on to www.511mn.org. Know the Road. Dialup or log on.

Work Zones. Pay Attention or Pay the Price.