Maine
Local Roads Center
Heavy
Loads and Local Roads in Maine
Under
authority of 29-A
MRSA, Section 2395, all public roads may be temporarily posted
to prevent abuse by heavy vehicles. The statute states that all
municipal officers (not officials), the MDOT, and county commissioners
"may adopt such rules to ensure proper use and prevent abuse of
the public ways ... whenever those ways require special protection".
(A municipal "officer" is the highest level of government (i.e.
selectman or councilor) in a town. A town manager or road commissioner
is not an "officer".)
Up
until July 15, 1986, the statute allowed temporary posting only
"during such seasons of the year" when protection was necessary.
Typically, this meant the Spring when roads are in their weakest
condition. This wording was modified in 1986 to "whenever", so that
temporary road posting can be in effect during other times in a
year. The MDOT has a posting period from November 15 to June 1.
Many of Maine's local roads are not capable of handling today's
heavier vehicle loads even during the summer and fall, so it may
be advisable to post roads during these "other" seasons, if necessary.
How
does a Town "adopt such reasonable rules"?
A
Board of Selectmen or Town/City Council must develop a set of
local rules and regulations to enforce this statute. These rules
should be kept on file and/or posted in the Town Office/City Hall.
An
ordinance is not required and voter approval is not necessary.
However, it is strongly recommended to adopt these rules in traffic ordinance form.
Whatever a Town decides to do, the proposed rules should be adopted
after a public meeting of the Board. The specific rules can be
explained and the public can comment on them beforehand. Public
notice of the meeting should be given at least 7 days in advance
and copies of the proposed rules should be posted and available
to interested parties. (If you want to adopt these rules as an
ordinance, then you must follow the traffic ordinance statute
30-A
MRSA Sect. 3009.) A majority vote of the municipal officers
is required to adopt these rules whether in the form of regulations
or an ordinance. A town meeting vote is not necessary, and in fact, may not be legally binding.
Once
the rules are established, it is good business to inform local
residents, contractors, suppliers, etc. before you actually post
your roads. The best procedure is to put a notice in the local
newspaper(s) several days in advance stating which roads will
be closed and during which time period.
It is probably easiest to develop local rules which follow the format of the MDOT. Those MaineDOT rules are explained further on. Also, the Maine Municipal Association (MMA Web site) has a "model ordinance" available which is based on the MDOT rules. This "model" could be very helpful in developing your local regulations.
The
main idea is to enact rules which are related to the registered
gross vehicle weight. This eliminates the need to actually weigh
vehicles-simply check the registrations. If you do not specify
registered weight in your rules, then actually weighing vehicles
is a requirement if you want to prosecute violators. SIGN
PLACEMENT
Signs
"must be conspicuously posted" at each end of each section of road
which the Town wants to temporarily restrict heavy vehicles. The
actual signs should be highly visible in color and size. You may
want to place the signs high enough to be out of easy reach of vandals,
but not so high as to be missed by drivers. The law does not specify
any particular height.
Also,
if a vehicle must travel over an adjacent town's unposted road first
before it gets to your town's posted road, what do you expect them
to do? It's best to work with the adjacent town before you create
this difficult situation.
TYPE
OF SIGNS
Typically,
fluorescent orange signs measuring 11" x 22" are available at many
local printshops around the State. (MDOT no longer provides signs
to municipalities.) The color does not have to be fluorescent orange
- it may be white, yellow, or any other visible color. The thickness
of the signs is also important because a thin sign will not stand
up to snow, rain, or slush. The standard, heavy duty MDOT signs
are 0.048" thick (14 ply) and typically last for 1 or 2 seasons.
The
"Heavy Loads Limited" signs which are the most commonly used signs
in Maine are OK, but how does a truck driver know the weight limit,
vehicle types, and posting dates when driving by them? Drivers are
not known to stop and go over and read the signs!
You
may want to design your own and graphically illustrate 2 or 3 vehicle
types and put your weight limits in BOLD PRINT. This format will
get your message across much more clearly.
FILLING
IN THE BLANKS
Each
sign shall state:
The
name of the road and if all or parts of the road are being posted.
The
"prescribed restrictions" (i.e. weight limits)
The
periods of closing.
Any
"exclusions", such as exempt vehicles.
It
would also be helpful to have the signature of at least one of the
Selectmen or other municipal officers on the bottom with a telephone
number. A Road Commissioner could also sign it, under the authority
of the Board or Council, even though he is a municipal official
and not an officer.
POSTING
DATES
The
effective date of posting should precede any significant thawing
period. Temperatures vary greatly around the State, but generally
the MDOT has found that posting roads in early March is relatively
typical. This prohibits heavy vehicles during those warmer days
when the road surface softens, and then refreezes at night. Vehicles
should not be allowed on any road which is anything less than solidly
frozen. A road is considered "solidly frozen" only when the air
temperature is 32°F or below and no water is showing in the cracks
of the road(if paved) or there is less than 1/2" of "thaw" on the
gravel surface.
WHEN
TO REMOVE YOUR POSTING
The
last day of posting can be variable across the State. There is nothing
"magical" about the commonly used date of May 15. The posting should
remain in effect until after the frost has come out AND all of the
excess water has drained off. Generally, it is best to "build-in"
a couple of weeks beyond which conditions are back to "normal".
Typically, State roads are posted until mid-April in southern Maine
and late April/early May in northern Maine. Therefore, a posted
ending date of early May is suggested.
ENFORCING
THE LAW
By
law, "the municipal officers within their respective municipality
have the same power as the State Police in the enforcement of all
rules of the DOT, the County Commissioners, and the municipal officers
that pertain...". In other words, a Selectman or Councilor could
stop vehicles, but it is probably best to leave these enforcement
activities to law officers who are familiar with such duties. The
State or County Police do not have to be called in to nab violators.
Your local constable or police officer has the same power and violators
can be summonsed with uniform traffic citations. Local constables
should not attempt to arrest a violator, simply issue a summons
instead. These citation booklets are available by writing to the
Chief Judges Office at P O Box 66, Portland, ME 04112.
Last Updated: 01/26/09
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