HOUSE BILL No. 4613 April 10, 1997, Introduced by Reps. Leland, Wallace, DeHart, Hale, Stallworth, Vaughn, Lowe, Quarles, Brewer, Kelly, Rison, Agee, Callahan, Kaza, LeTarte, Law, Emerson, Scott, Freeman, Schroer, Brater, Parks, Hood, Raczkowski, Griffin, Dobronski, Cropsey, Bobier, Geiger, Byl, Jaye, Rocca, Murphy and Schauer and referred to the Committee on Transportation. A bill to amend 1949 PA 300, entitled "Michigan vehicle code," by amending section 722 (MCL 257.722), as amended by 1993 PA 22. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT: 1 Sec. 722. (1)TheUNTIL DECEMBER 31, 2001, THE maximum 2 axle load shall not exceed the number of pounds designated in the 3 following provisions which prescribe the distance between axles: 4 (a) When the axle spacing is 9 feet or more between axles, 5 the maximum axle load shall not exceed 18,000 pounds for vehicles 6 equipped with high pressure pneumatic or balloon tires. 7 (b) When the axle spacing is less than 9 feet between 2 8 axles but more than 3-1/2 feet, the maximum axle load shall not 9 exceed 13,000 pounds for high pressure pneumatic or balloon 10 tires. 02070'97 VPW 2 1 (c) When axles are spaced less than 3-1/2 feet apart, the 2 maximum axle load shall not exceed 9,000 pounds per axle. 3 (d) Subdivisions (a), (b), and (c) shall be known as the 4 normal loading maximum. 5 (2)WhenUNTIL DECEMBER 31, 2001, WHEN normal loading is 6 in effect, the state transportation department and local authori- 7 ties with respect to highways under their jurisdiction may desig- 8 nate certain highways, or sections of those highways, where 9 bridges and road surfaces are adequate for heavier loading, which 10 designation may be revised as needed, on which the maximum tandem 11 axle assembly loading shall not exceed 16,000 pounds for any axle 12 of the assembly, if there is no other axle within 9 feet of any 13 axle of the assembly. 14 (3) Except as provided in subsection (8), on a legal combi- 15 nation of vehicles, only 1 tandem axle assembly shall be permit- 16 ted on the designated highways at the gross permissible weight of 17 16,000 pounds per axle, if there is no other axle within 9 feet 18 of any axle of the assembly, and if no other tandem axle assembly 19 in the combination of vehicles exceeds a gross weight of 13,000 20 pounds per axle. When the maximum gross weight of a combination 21 of vehicles with load does not exceed 73,280 pounds, 2 tandem 22 axle assemblies shall be permitted on the designated highways at 23 a gross permissible weight of 16,000 pounds per axle, if there is 24 no other axle within 9 feet of any axle of the assembly. THIS 25 SUBSECTION SHALL APPLY UNTIL DECEMBER 31, 2001. 02070'97 3 1 (4) BEGINNING JANUARY 1, 2002, THE MAXIMUM GROSS VEHICLE 2 WEIGHT FOR THE OPERATION OF VEHICLES SHALL NOT BE MORE THAN 3 80,000 POUNDS AND SHALL NOT EXCEED ANY OF THE FOLLOWING: 4 (A) TWENTY THOUSAND POUNDS ON 1 AXLE. 5 (B) A TANDEM AXLE WEIGHT OF 17,000 POUNDS PER AXLE INCLUDING 6 ALL ENFORCEMENT TOLERANCES. 7 (C) AN OVERALL GROSS WEIGHT ON A GROUP OF 2 OR MORE CONSECU- 8 TIVE AXLES EQUALING: 9 W = 500 /LN + 12N + 36\ 10 \N-1 / 11 WHERE W = OVERALL GROSS WEIGHT ON A GROUP OF 2 OR MORE CONSECU- 12 TIVE AXLES TO THE NEAREST 500 POUNDS, L = DISTANCE IN FEET 13 BETWEEN THE EXTREME OF A GROUP OF 2 OR MORE CONSECUTIVE AXLES, 14 AND N = NUMBER OF AXLES IN THE GROUP UNDER CONSIDERATION. 15 HOWEVER, 2 CONSECUTIVE SETS OF TANDEM AXLES MAY CARRY A GROSS 16 LOAD OF 17,000 POUNDS PER AXLE EACH IF THE FIRST AND LAST AXLES 17 OF THE CONSECUTIVE SETS OF TANDEM AXLES ARE NOT LESS THAN 36 FEET 18 APART, AND THE GROSS VEHICLE WEIGHT DOES NOT EXCEED 80,000 POUNDS 19 INCLUDING ALL ENFORCEMENT TOLERANCES. 20 (5)(4)The normal size of tires shall be the rated size 21 as published by the manufacturers, and the maximum wheel load 22 permissible for any wheel shall not exceed 700 pounds per inch of 23 width of tire. 24 (6)(5)During the months of March, April, and May in each 25 year, the maximum axle load allowable on concrete pavements, or 26 pavements with a concrete base, shall be reduced by 25% from the 27 maximum axle load as specified in this chapter, and the maximum 28 axle loads allowable on all other types of roads during these 02070'97 4 1 months shall be reduced by 35% from the maximum axle loads as 2 specified. The maximum wheel load shall not exceed 525 pounds 3 per inch of tire width on concrete and concrete base or 450 4 pounds per inch of tire width on all other roads during the 5 period the seasonal road restrictions are in effect. Upon 6 receipt of a written application and good cause being shown, the 7 state transportation department, for roads under their jurisdic- 8 tion, and county road commissions, for roads under their juris- 9 diction, may permit exemptions from seasonal weight restrictions 10 for milk on specified routes when requested. Approval or denial 11 of a request for an exemption shall be given by written notice to 12 the applicant within 30 days after the date of submission of the 13 application. If a request is denied, the written notice shall 14 state the reason for denial and alternate routes for which the 15 permit may be issued. The applicant shall have the right to 16 appeal to the state transportation commission or the county road 17 commission. These exemptions shall not apply on county roads in 18 counties which have negotiated agreements with milk haulers, or 19 haulers of other commodities, during periods of seasonal load 20 limits in years prior to the effective date of this 1993 amenda- 21 tory act. This 1993 amendatory act shall not limit the ability 22 of these counties to continue to negotiate such agreements. 23 (7)(6)The state transportation department, or a local 24 authority with respect to highways under its jurisdiction, may 25 suspend the restrictions imposed by this section when and where, 26 in its discretion, conditions of the highways or the public 27 health, safety, and welfare so warrant, and may impose the 02070'97 5 1 restricted loading requirements of this section on designated 2 highways at any other time that the conditions of the highway may 3 require. 4 (8)(7)For the purpose of enforcement of this act, the 5 gross vehicle weight of a single vehicle and load or a combina- 6 tion of vehicles and loads, shall be determined by weighing indi- 7 vidual axles or groups of axles, and the total weight on all the 8 axles shall be the gross vehicle weight. In addition, ON AND 9 UNTIL DECEMBER 31, 2001, the gross axle weight shall be deter- 10 mined by weighing individual axles or by weighing a group of 11 axles and dividing the gross weight of the group of axles by the 12 number of axles in the group. Pursuant to subsection(8)(4) 13 OR (9) AS APPLICABLE, the overall gross weight on a group of 2 or 14 more axles shall be determined by weighing individual axles or 15 several axles, and the total weight of all the axles in the group 16 shall be the overall gross weight of the group. 17 (9)(8)The loading maximum in this subsection shall apply 18 to interstate highways, and the state transportation department, 19 or a local authority with respect to highways under its jurisdic- 20 tion, may designate a highway, or a section of a highway, for the 21 operation of vehicles having a gross vehicle weight of not more 22 than 80,000 pounds which are subject to the following load 23 maximums: 24 (a) Twenty thousand pounds on any 1 axle, including all 25 enforcement tolerances. 26 (b) A tandem axle weight of 34,000 pounds including all 27 enforcement tolerances. 02070'97 6 1 (c) An overall gross weight on a group of 2 or more 2 consecutive axles equaling: 3 4 W = 500 /LN + 12N + 36\ 5 \N-1 / 6 where W = overall gross weight on a group of 2 or more consecu- 7 tive axles to the nearest 500 pounds, L = distance in feet 8 between the extreme of a group of 2 or more consecutive axles, 9 and N = number of axles in the group under consideration; except 10 that 2 consecutive sets of tandem axles may carry a gross load of 11 34,000 pounds each if the first and last axles of the consecutive 12 sets of tandem axles are not less than 36 feet apart. The gross 13 vehicle weight shall not exceed 80,000 pounds including all 14 enforcement tolerances. Except for 5 axle truck tractor, semi- 15 trailer combinations having 2 consecutive sets of tandem axles, 16 vehicles having a gross weight in excess of 80,000 pounds or in 17 excess of the vehicle gross weight determined by application of 18 the formula in this subsection shall be subject to the maximum 19 axle loads of subsections (1), (2), and (3). As used in this 20 subsection, "tandem axle weight" means the total weight transmit- 21 ted to the road by 2 or more consecutive axles, the centers of 22 which may be included between parallel transverse vertical planes 23 spaced more than 40 inches, but not more than 96 inches, apart, 24 extending across the full width of the vehicle. THIS SUBSECTION 25 SHALL APPLY UNTIL DECEMBER 31, 2001. 02070'97 Final page. VPW