Weight Restrictions Removed from Island Roads

Today, officials from the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal removed spring weight restrictions from all Island roads. Restrictions were implemented February 23 of this year. Typically they are put in place around the third week in March and are removed around the last week of April.

“The restrictions came in a little early this year because of the mild weather in February, but warm weather over the last week allowed this Department to remove restrictions earlier than normal as well,” says Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal Ron MacKinley. “I want to thank the trucking industry as a whole for their cooperation and compliance over the last month and a half as well as our engineering staff who do the necessary testing and our Highway Safety enforcement team for all their hard work over the past few weeks.”

Weight restrictions provide an important safeguard against damage to Island highways. During the spring thaw, roads are very vulnerable to damage from heavy loads and weight restrictions help mitigate some of that damage. This can save the province millions of dollars in repair costs.

“We understand that these restrictions can impact the trucking and agriculture sectors, and we greatly appreciate their cooperation,” says Minister MacKinley. “That’s why officials are very diligent with testing and monitoring, because we don’t want restrictions to be in place any longer than necessary.”