The Saline County Commission has unanimously approved a resolution implementing comprehensive requirements for oversize and overweight vehicle permits, replacing regulations that have been in place since 2003.
County Engineer Justin Mader presented Resolution 25-2433 during Tuesday's commission meeting, which repeals the previous Resolution 031810 and adopts Policy 2025101 to provide updated guidelines for permitting oversized loads on county-maintained roads.
"The original resolution did create a permit but did not have any regulations for that Saline County permit," Mader explained to commissioners.
The new policy defines what constitutes an oversized and overweight load for county permit purposes: vehicles wider than 12 feet, trailers longer than 59.5 feet, overall vehicle combinations longer than 68.5 feet, or vehicles exceeding specific weight limits including 20,000 pounds on a single axle or 34,000 pounds on a tandem axle. The total gross vehicle weight cannot exceed 85,500 pounds.
After feedback from commissioners at a previous meeting, Mader incorporated exemptions into the policy for fire apparatus, road machinery, farm machinery, farm tractors, and implements of husbandry. He also increased the width threshold from 8.5 feet to 12 feet to reduce permit requirements for local construction traffic.
"The whole point of this permit is not to create red tape, additional paperwork and headaches for people to do their job," Mader stated.
The permit fee will be $40, which Mader noted is the maximum allowed under state statute. He suggested the Kansas Association of Counties might consider advocating for changes to the state statutes to allow higher permit fees in the future.
The policy also outlines insurance requirements, procedures for moving objects such as traffic signs or mailboxes if necessary during transport, and minimum requirements for traffic control and warning signs.
With the resolution's approval, the county will create an online permit application through the county website, and the code of ordinances will be modified to reflect these changes in both Chapter 5 and Chapter 11.
The resolution takes effect immediately.
