ATLANTA — As commuters in Sandy Springs continue to deal with the loss of a bridge struck by an oversized truck, law enforcement officers in Georgia have stopped drivers behind the wheel of other trucks that were thousands of pounds overweight.
It’s been a little over a month since a truck that was nearly four feet too tall and 40,000 pounds overweight struck the Mt. Vernon Highway bridge over I-285. The Georgia Department of Transportation inspectors found so much damage that the bridge is permanently closed. Contractors are now hustling to build a new bridge.
Lisa Hronchek lives in the area and says the loss of the bridge has added significant time to her trips from one side of I-285 to the other.
“It’s definitely been a pain,” Hronchek said. “It affects me, I would say, at least three to five round trips a day.”
After seeing the truck's dimensions that damaged the bridge, 11Alive wanted to know if trucks that size are rare or common on I-285. The Georgia Department of Public Safety provided citations issued to drivers behind the wheel of overweight trucks this year.
In addition to the truck that was 40,300 pounds overweight, troopers with the state’s Motor Carrier Compliance Division issued citations for trucks that were 12,700 pounds, 11,300 pounds, and 9,700 pounds over.
So far this year, fewer than a dozen citations have been written for trucks on I-285. Troopers with Motor Carrier Compliance say there are several reasons for that. Among them-- many oversized trucks are stopped at weigh stations outside metro Atlanta.
Fines depend on how much a truck is over the legal limit. The truck that struck the Mt. Vernon bridge was fined $2,015. The citation for the truck that was 11,300 pounds overweight lists the fine amount at $565.
One driver was ticketed two days in a row. On September 1, he was ticketed for driving a truck that was 7,900 pounds over the legal limit. The next day, he was issued a citation for hauling pulpwood in a truck that was 5,300 pounds overweight.
Drivers can apply for a permit to exceed height and weight limits temporarily, but they’re then required to follow a route that would keep them from hazardous situations like a bridge they might damage if they drive over or under it.
According to the State Patrol’s Moter Carrier Compliance Division commander, oversized trucks are more likely to overturn. Drivers have a more difficult time coming to a stop.
Plus, there’s the damage to our roadways.
According to a New York Department of Transportation study, illegally overweight trucks could be responsible for as much as $ 43 million a year in damaged infrastructure in that state.
In metro Atlanta, drivers continue to deal with the headache left by the damage done to the Mt. Vernon bridge by one vastly oversized truck.