Benefit/Cost Analysis of Spring Weight Restriction
Spring Weight Restrictions (SWR) forbid heavy trucks to run on some low-level roads during the spring thaw period. There has been long dispute between trucking industry and road agencies on the effectiveness of this policy. Previous studies showed inconsistent results on this issue. This paper consistently estimates the benefits and costs of the SWR policy in Lyon County, Minnesota. A freight demand model was built to simulate truck flow on the road network. A pavement performance model estimates pavement life in terms of rutting failure based on the traffic provided by freight demand model. The analysis shows that the benefits of SWR to local agencies are exceeded by the costs to truckers, which suggests lifting these seasonal restrictions on 7 and 9-ton roads