Chelan County wants to remind you that with the temperatures warming up, temporary weight restrictions on county roads are in the offing. Freight haulers should be paying attention; notice typically goes out 24 hours in advance of weight restrictions being placed on a roadway although weight restrictions have already been placed on several county roads in the Cashmere district.
Seasonal snowmelt and runoff can soften roadways, potentially leading to costly damages. Temporary weight restrictions are put in place annually to protect the roadways from such damage. Only emergency vehicles, school buses or vehicles possessing a special permit issued by the County Engineer are exempt.
One thing new this year: vehicles that have a gross weight of 34,000 pounds or less do not need a special permit. However, the county asks these drivers to try their best to stay off road shoulders.
The seasonal weight restrictions apply to county roads; they do not impact load-rated bridges. Haulers will still need to verify if any of their proposed routes include a load-restricted bridge and then adhere to the specific restrictions of that structure.
The county will alert if weight restrictions have been put in place on a county road in a variety of ways: by placing temporary weight restriction signs on impacted county roadways; by public works emails, and by posting the information with frequent updates on the county's traffic alerts and restrictions webpage, and on Facebook.