OS/OW Permitting

Problem

Any oversize or overweight (OS/OW) vehicle or load using a roadway requires an OS/OW Permit to operate. Depending on the distance and route used to move the vehicle or load, the number of required permits can become extensive. These costs increase the price of bids placed for jobs as well as increase both the planning and operating time needed to complete moves and lifts within the industry.

Solution

With support from SC&RA’s Transportation Group Governing Committee, Transportation Pilot Car Task Force and Transportation Permit Policy Committee, the Association is actively pushing for harmonization of state permit providers and policies as well as a modernization of automated systems to better serve the industry.

SC&RA also engages with the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) and its four regional groups – the Western Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (WASHTO), the Southern Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (SASHTO), the Northeast Association of State Transportation Officials (NASTO) and the Mid America Association of State Transportation Officials (MAASHTO) – to advocate for the needs of member companies.

SC&RA established a minimum request of states to allow 23,000 pounds on a single axle, 44,000 to 46,000 pounds on a 2-axle tandem, 60,000 pounds on a tridem, 80,000 pounds on a quad and a to-be-determined weight on a trunnion/dual-lane trailer and harmonization between states on other weight requirements. Additionally, SC&RA developed template configurations representing 5 to 13 axle combinations.

UPT2021 Uniform Permit Transport 2021

In March 2018, SC&RA announced an ambitious initiative – Uniform Permit Transport 2021 (UPT2021) – to establish harmonization between all 50 U.S. states on OS/OW envelope vehicle configurations. Two of the primary goals for UPT2021 are to encourage all states to allow minimum weight thresholds, and to analyze and issue permits via automated permit systems, 24/7. More than 30 states presently use systems that auto-issue permits – in some cases greater than 16 feet wide and high and 250,000 gross pounds. The aim is to gain 100 percent compliance across the country by the year 2021.

This initiative pertains only to those loads defined by the Federal Government as “non-divisible” loads – SC&RA has proposed 11 envelope vehicle configurations that make up the majority of typical overweight permits issued by states in the U.S.