Contacts
- Craig Wilkins
651-366-4270
Location
Minnesota Department of
Transportation
Office of Communications
395 John Ireland Blvd.
Mail Stop 150
St. Paul, MN 55155-1899
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Legal truck weight loads will increase Dec. 5 in the northern frost zone
ST. PAUL, Minn.—Allowable winter load limits on highways in the north frost zone will increase by 10 percent at 12:01 a.m. on Dec. 5, the Minnesota Department of Transportation announced.
The north frost zone’s boundaries extend south from the Canadian border to a line following Hwy 1, Hwy 89, Hwy 2, Hwy 33 and Interstate 35 at the Carlton-St. Louis county line and then south to the Wisconsin border.
State law allows a 10 percent weight increase on all state highways and unrestricted, nine-ton capacity county roads in the designated zones. However, trucks must comply with current registration weight laws and may not exceeded gross weight limits.
Gross vehicle weight is capped at 80,000 pounds on nine-ton township and city routes.
A winter weight load increase permit is required for truckers operating on interstate routes.
Mn/DOT advises that haulers check with local agencies (e.g., tribal, county, city and township officials) before carrying increased loads on their roads.
Signs erected on the roadway govern the load limit in effect.
For information about legal weight/size trucking, call the Minnesota Department of Public Safety at 651-405-6196. For information about over legal weight/size heavy haul trucking, call Mn/DOT at 651-296-6000.
Load increases are permitted because pavements achieve increased strength to carry heavier loads when their sub-grades freeze.
Mn/DOT continues to monitor the other frost zones to determine when it can allow additional weight increases.
For the most current information, call Mn/DOT’s automated 24-hour message center at 800-723-6543 for the U. S. and Canada or 651-366-5400 in the Twin Cities metropolitan area.
This information is also posted on Mn/DOT’s seasonal load limits Web site at: www.mrr.dot.state.mn.us.
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