Ensuring compliance with Overweight permits

OVERWEIGHT PERMITS ARE ISSUED BY ROADING authorities to manage the transport of indivisible loads over bridge structures with heavier axle loadings than normally allowed for heavy vehicles. This is to ensure that the structures are not overloaded and are within the operational limits of the bridge or culvert. There are several key compliance aspects with overweight permits that operators need to pay attention to.

1.

Indivisible Loads

Large and heavier loads that cannot be easily reduced in weight, and when transported still exceed the normal axle limits, can be moved on an overweight permit. Typically, these are large pieces of earthmoving machinery, large objects such as transformers, and include overweight vehicles such as mobile cranes, drilling rigs or agricultural machinery.

2.

Overweight Permits

Permits need to be sought from all the different roading authorities that the heavy load is to travel on. Typically, this includes NZTA for the State Highways, and local Council’s for local roads. Some NZTA regions are also including local authority roads on their permits once the bridges have been modelled in the permit issuing system. Typically, operators that will use the permits in their operation will get continuous permits for up to two years, but there are also oneoff permits available for heavier loads. Operators need to ensure they have permits for the routes they will travel, and those permits allow them to travel that route without overloading any structures which they need to cross (no “Do Not Cross” restrictions).

3.

Bridge Restrictions

Operators need to be able to identify and comply with any speed or position restrictions that are listed on the overweight permit for structures that will be crossed. For this, both operators and individual drivers need to be registered and trained for Bridge Engineering Self Supervision (BESS) with NZTA to cross of these bridges. There is a specific process involved with this, and renewals of the BESS license for drivers must be undertaken every five years, so it pays to keep an eye on expiry dates. There are assessors available around the country for both new and renewing BESS drivers, which are available through the Heavy Haulage Association.

4.

Traffic Control

On overweight permits, there are requirements listed for the control of traffic while an overweight load is crossing a bridge – these are individually listed for each bridge on the permit. It is important to manage the on-coming traffic especially if the overweight load is required to be positioned on the centre of the bridge and travels at a slow speed. Heavy vehicles following the load are required to be kept back 30m to not overload the bridge.

5.

Route Restrictions and Travel Times

Overweight permits can include a whole range of quite specific requirements for travel of overweight loads, and while the length of a permit can be extensive, operators need to read through all the conditions that are specified on the permit to ensure they are complying with them. These can include limits on dimensions that are able to be transported on motorways, and local travel time restrictions in addition to the normal ones for over-dimension loads.

6. Critical Conditions

The permit lists three critical conditions that must be complied with, to do with gross mass, mass limits for the vehicle, and compliance with bridge conditions. Non-compliance with these can attract a $2000 infringement. T&D

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