Three major permitting reforms announced at Symposium

Coming out of the successful 2024 Specialized Transportation Symposium, SC&RA’s ongoing advocacy efforts yielded major permitting reforms announced by three of the nearly 30 state officials in attendance in Houston last month.

PHOTO: Charlie Reilly

At the SASHTO regional meeting on February 20, Alabama announced it is near final approval of its certified pilot car program, and will issue new guidelines for superload movement within the next 6 months. Additionally, Tennessee announced that it has increased to 53 feet long the legal limit for commercial vehicle loads.

“These announcements are a major step in the right direction for our industry, especially for uniform travel across the southeast” said Rob Simon, vice president for heavy haul & specialized, Bennett Motor Express. “We commend both Alabama and Tennessee for their continued support of SC&RA initiatives.”

Major permitting news came out of the MAASTO meeting on February 20, as Kansas announced plans to eliminate its 3-day waiting period for processing of superload permit applications. SC&RA Permit Policy Committee Chair Bryce Baker, president of Oxcart Permit Systems, noted, “We were incredibly pleased to hear about Kansas advancement on this major issue. Three days to process a superload was simply unacceptable in a region where other states auto-issue 99 percent of all permits.”

Because of the Kansas superload issue, the Permit Policy Committee selected the state as one of SC&RA’s top 5 advocacy priorities for 2024. Kansas expects to have the superload delay issue resolved in the coming week. Tennessee was also selected as a top 5 priority for 2024 due to concerns over turnaround times for complicated permit applications. Recognition of a longer legal length will reduce the number of permit applications needed for certain loads and help improve the state’s ability to tackle SC&RA members’ more difficult moves through the state.