Weight Restrictions on Lodge Creek Bridge

Motorists driving through or into Chinook have likely noticed the new weight limit sign at Lodge Creek. This sign is among several that the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) has erected as part of new load posting procedures on public bridges across the state as mandated by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). Already subject to hundreds of regulations that apply to freight carriers and transport companies, many truck drivers expressed alarm at the sign.

A loaded semi-truck (tractor-trailer) will typically weigh 80,000 pounds, which is well over the posted limit of 30 ton. There...