Time to Start Planning For Spring Weight Restrictions

With the end of winter in sight and spring on the horizon, the Department of Transportation and Public Works would like to remind Islanders that it's time to begin planning for upcoming spring weight restrictions.

Each year Prince Edward Island experiences a spring thaw during which Island roads are more fragile than at other times of the year, making them vulnerable to damage from heavy commercial motor vehicles. During this time, the Department of Transportation and Public Works subjects highway carriers to stricter vehicle load limits in order to protect Island roads. This is supplemented by increased monitoring by the department's commercial vehicle enforcement staff to ensure compliance.

"Spring weight restrictions protect our roads from the damage that freezing and thawing cycles cause like pavement cracking and road breakup. Research done by our Materials Lab shows that a loaded axle on a commercial vehicle can cause between five and eight times more damage in the spring than in other times of the year, so it's important to plan your work in such a way that road damage during this time is reduced as much as possible," says Transportation and Public Works Minister Gail Shea.

Shea noted the success realized in recent years by better route planning by Islanders to avoid road damage and advised that further public notifications of spring weight restrictions would be coming forward in the near future as weather conditions warrant.