Heavy duty trucks will soon be seeing some restrictions when it comes to driving in southern Logan County.
With a 2-1 vote, the Logan County Board of County Commissioners approved a resolution implementing thru-traffic size restrictions of heavy duty trucks within district one of the county. District 1 Commissioner Marven Goodman says the roads can no longer handle the continued pressure.
A heavy duty truck is recognized as being over 26,001 pounds. In comparison, a school bus is considered medium duty (14,001 to 26,000 pounds).
Goodman began having discussions in May with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol’s Scales and Weights department on the heavy vehicles driving on certain roads when not doing business in those areas.
Goodman presented 20 roads (see below) within his district that will have thru-traffic restrictions, which means if the heavy duty vehicle is not conducting business in a thru-traffic area they could be ticketed by law enforcement.
“They can’t take it anymore,” Goodman said of the roads being damaged by the larger trucks. “If we allow that truck to continue, we’re not going to be able to keep up in this county. That is the third fastest growing area in Oklahoma. We need residential traffic through there. We don’t need commercial truck traffic.
District 3 County Commissioner Monty Piearcy asked Goodman, “so how do you determine a thru-truck or a not thru-truck?”
Goodman explained, “If we got an 18-wheeler traversing north off of Waterloo Road toward Highway 33. He gets stop by county sheriff. ‘Says where you coming from with a truck loaded full of gravel that is 80,000 pounds.’ ‘Well, I’m going right up the road here and going to make a left and go in and dump it here.’ That is not thru traffic. He needed to go there to do business.”
Piearcy quickly answered back, “Or he can tell him it ain’t none of his business. This is America.”
Goodman responded, “He can. He can do all of that and then he can get a ticket and be on Channel 5.”
The restrictions would not apply to county trucks, fire trucks or emergency vehicles.
Goodman made the motion to approve the item and Piearcy made the second but had some hesitation.
“I just hate putting rules and regulations on everybody. It’s your district, I’ll support it if that’s what you want to do, but I can tell you I’m not crazy about it,” Piearcy said.
District 2 Commissioner Mike Pearson cast the lone no vote.
“I don’t have anything but negatives coming back at me so I’m not ready to do this at this time.”
Goodman says the road signs can take up to two weeks to be placed at the identified intersections.
Click here to watch the meeting. This topic begins at the 17:25 mark.
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