British Columbia installs new oversize/overweight travel restrictions

Beginning Nov. 19, truckers driving on provincial highways in British Columbia will need to reevaluate their trucks’ weight and size for larger loads. The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure recently announced new travel restrictions during inclement weather.

More specifically, the restrictions apply to provincial highways that are designated as “Carry Chains” routes for commercial vehicles or “Winter Tire” routes for passenger vehicles any time those routes are under a travel advisory.

Travel restrictions will apply to loads that exceed 100,000 kilograms gross combination vehicle weight, approximately 220,000 pounds or 110 U.S. tons. Restrictions also apply to trucks that are 4.4 meters in overall width, which is approximately 14 feet.

According to a news release, the province has noticed an increase in the number of road closures provincewide that involve commercial vehicles. This comes despite a decrease of serious commercial vehicle-related crashes. The instances of commercial vehicles causing closures by spinning out on the highway or extending closures due to their inability to regain traction on the road surface have increased, according to the Ministry of Transportation.

“Even heavy-duty tow trucks are not designed to pull loads with weights that exceed 100,000 kilograms, and a load exceeding 4.4 meters blocks a very significant portion of the roadway when disabled, especially in heavy snow,” according to a statement from the Ministry. “It is difficult for maintenance contractors to remove snow when vehicles are blocking the way, resulting in longer than usual road closures.”

Commercial vehicles exceeding 100,000 kilograms or more than 4.4 meters in width must not be dispatched during extreme winter conditions and travel advisories, the Ministry advises.

The Ministry will make all Commercial Vehicle Safety and Enforcement inspection stations available to commercial vehicles that are in transit during travel advisories for staging and chaining up.

Questions about the new restrictions may be directed to commercial.transport@gov.bc.ca or to Jan Lansing, manager commercial transport, at jan.lansing@gov.bc.ca.