New weight limits will restrict heavy truck traffic along U.S. 54 west of Iola.
The Kansas Department of Transportation announced this week new vehicle-weight restrictions at the railroad overpass along U.S. 54 in Woodson County, about 11/2 miles east of Yates Center.
The overpass crosses the Union Pacific rail corridor.
Load limits on the bridge will be 15 tons or 30,000 pounds for a single vehicle; 20 tons or 40,000 pounds for a highway transport with trailer; and 30 tons or 60,000 pounds for a truck with a dual trailer combination.
The weight limits will be in effect until the bridge is repaired or replaced. The overpass tentatively has been scheduled for replacement in 2015 under the state’s T-WORKS transportation program.
Most highway transports have an 80,000-pound load limit.
Darrin Petrowski, a KDOT engineer, said the bridge has undergone regular inspections in recent years, “and it’s just met its life expectancy.”
The span was built in 1936 and widened in 1970 as part of a modernization.
Petrowski said truckers would be encouraged to bypass the span by traveling along K-58 Highway, about 15 miles north of U.S. 54, or by using K-39 Highway, about 15 miles to the south.
