The Marshall County Commissioners reviewed an ordinance last week that pertains to prohibiting vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating in excess of 26,000 pounds traveling on county roads.
The ordinance was proposed in October when the commissioners discussed several complaints about damage semi trucks are causing when they use county roads as a shortcut to a destination.
The ordinance restricts heavy, large commercial traffic on local county roads. Operation of the trucks will not be allowed to travel on county roads that display posted signs prohibiting the action. The restriction does not apply to farm trucks, school buses or fire trucks.
The commissioners may consider a waiver if alternate routes are unreasonable and the use of the restricted road is in the public interest.
Violators will see a first-time fine of $100 and second and all subsequent offenses will have a fine of $500.
Commissioner Mike Delp would like signs on roads that depict a truck with a circle and slash through it so drivers can easily see that high profile vehicles are prohibited from driving on the road. He would also like to see the notification of the maximum fine of $500 listed below that sign with the requirement to use state roads.
The first reading of the ordinance was unanimously approved. Since there is a fine associated with the proposed ordinance, a public hearing on the matter is set for Monday, Jan. 7 at 9 a.m. in the second floor meeting room in the Marshall County Building at 112 W. Jefferson Street in Plymouth.
