ATLANTA — Big rigs are critical to Georgia’s supply chain infrastructure. Everything from logging to poultry to Georgia ports need to have tractor-trailers rolling down state roads to deliver products.
Under a new Georgia law, the trucks’ weight limits can now be heavier. However, hundreds of bridges in the state cannot handle the new limits, according to Georgia Department of Transportation.
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House Bill 189, which was law signed by Gov. Brian Kemp in May, temporarily raises the maximum weight from 80,000 pounds to 88,000 pounds for some trucks.
The state has a total of nearly 15,000 bridges. GDOT says 1,363 bridges couldn’t handle the previous weight limits and it has identified another 733 bridges that will be need to be restricted under the new law.
GDOT’s Deputy Chief Engineer Andrew Heath said at a board meeting last week that government officials are working on placing signs about the weight restrictions on the bridges they have identified.
Local governments will be notified by Aug. 3 about the locally-owned bridges that need the postings. Both GDOT and local governments have until Sept. 2 to get the signs in place.
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Earlier this year, Channel 2′s Richard Elliot spoke with the lawmaker behind the bill.
“The truck and logging sector is under enormous pressure today,” Wayne County Republican Steven Meeks said.
Meeks added that the pressure is greater today with a shortage of truck drivers.
“Our input costs, our fuel costs, our insurance costs are all factors that play into that.”
There were critics of the law. More than 100 local government leaders across Georgia signed a letter asking legislators to oppose it.
The letter detailed the safety and maintenance concerns of local communities and includes signers from every region of Georgia, with representation from leaders of urban, suburban, exurban and rural counties.
House Bill 189 narrowly passed the Georgia House 95-75 and the Georgia Senate 37-16.
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