The City of Cranbrook is placing seasonal load restrictions on its streets.
City officials said this is meant to minimize damage from thawing winter frost.
“Unless indicated otherwise, all streets within the City of Cranbrook are limited to 70% Legal Axle Loading, with some other local streets being reduced to 50% on a case-by-case basis,” said city officials.
Signs will be posted to let drivers know about the change.
City officials said some roads will continue to allow 100 per cent of legal axle load to accommodate commercial and industrial deliveries.
“The City works closely with the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, which issues regional load restriction notices based on Road Weather Information System stations that track the region’s frost depth and road strength,” said city staff. “The City intends to align its streets with the same restrictions, including where heavy loads may be able to access the city from industrial or construction operations outside of city limits.”
Thawing ground frost compromises the structural integrity of the roads.
“When the frost first comes out of the ground, the soils underneath the pavement become very saturated and unstable, quickly leading to significant pavement damage and unsafe road conditions from heavy loads,” said city officials. “We have had this occur a few times over the past several years, and we want to be as proactive as possible to protect our roads.”
Applications are available for extraordinary loads, which are only used on a case-by-case basis.
More: City Road Load Restrictions Map (City of Cranbrook)