County engineer opposes axle weight limit changes

Franklin County Engineer Jason Baggett is concerned about the potential impact of a bill that would increase the axle weight limit of trucks hauling forest products on Alabama roads and bridges.

While those trucks can often be seen traveling on state and U.S. highways, they also travel on countymaintained roads, which sometimes aren’t built to support the weight.

The proposed change, accordingtotheAssociation of County Commissions of Alabama, could “undo the progress made under the 2019 Rebuild Alabama Act.”

“If enacted, Senate Bill 110 would expedite the deterioration of pavement on county and state-maintained roads, increase the number of bridges statewide that are posted with weight restrictions and threaten the safety of the driving public,” the ACCA stated.

While the bill would not allow the overall weight of a truck to increase, it would allow more weight on the axle, which is what could lead to increased deterioration to roads.

Baggett said the logging industry is huge in the county.

“There are a lot of logging operations that go on,” he said. “We understand they have a job and service to provide.”

Baggett said increasing the axle weight could lead to more bridges being posted with weight limits.

“We have a lot of posted bridges in Franklin County,” he said. “Increasing this weight may cause many more bridges to become posted at that point.”

Increasing the axle weight, he said, means more pressure and weight pushing down on the bridge at that point.

He said studies have shown that increasing the axle weight can cause more damage to the road or bridge.

The bill, which is sponsored by Sen. Jack Williams, R-Mobile, has been approved by the Senate Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Committee and is now in position to be considered on the Senate floor as early as this week, according to the ACCA.