Western Associations of State Highway and Transportation Officials (WASHTO) Meeting – March 10th and 11th.

We attended the Western Associations of State Highway and Transportation Officials (WASHTO) meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico. WASHTO include 18 western states working together towards efficient goods movement in a safe manner, by:

• • Contributing to national policies on transportation issues that are responsive to members’ needs;
• • Promoting a closer relationship between its members;
• • Advocating legislation that supports effective transportation systems, economic competitiveness and the environmental integrity of member states;
• • Providing a forum for exchanging ideas, exploring and adapting techniques, promoting quality and best practices for implementation;
• • Working with the United States Department of Transportation and other governmental agencies.

We had several items put on the agenda to see how other states are handling these specific issues versus the way they are handled in California because Caltrans has asked, on several occasions, what are other states doing? We felt that this was the perfect forum to obtain this information.

These were our agenda items:

1. Rotator tow truck overweight by design from manufacturers. What is the maximum allowable permitted weight?
2. 8, 9, 10 axle crane with support vehicles. Maximum allowable weights on carrier and support vehicle?
3. Reasonable access for over-dimensional loads
4. Allowing additional weight above what is stamped on the sidewall of the tire at a reduced speed that is being authorized in writing by the tire manufactures.

We gave a short presentation to the 12 of the 18 states who were present and they agreed to take the information and questions and send us responses.

Uniformity in regulation is a significant part of keeping freight cost to a minimum, one of the key components of efficient goods movement and one of Governor Schwarzenegger’s key goals. When you look at the bigger picture of uniformity you see it isn’t a California-only issue. Groups like WASHTO are working toward uniformity to improve interstate commerce involving extra-legal loads which could be brought to a standstill without this effort.

That’s why we are involved. It makes no sense if a truck routed from New York City to the Port of Los Angeles gets stopped at the California border with a blizzard of different regulations, requirements and excuses for delay. We’ve heard them all—“the load is unsafe, your trailer doesn’t meet our requirements etc.” Haulers have to off-load something to make weight and load it on another truck to complete the move. We are continually working on ways to resolve these issues.

CHP - Three Division Commanders & Staff, Caltrans and Industry Stakeholders meet.

We recently met with CHP and Caltrans to help open the lines of communication between everyone.

We discussed availability, new staffing, uniformity between divisions, more communication between CHP Coordinators and industry prior to making the move, local agency issues, minimum and maximum as it relates to internal dimensions, kingpin measurements, local parking and encroachment permits, convoying loads, authority when off route and method of payment.

These are the day-to-day issues that affect our industry, CHP and Caltrans. When a load is shutdown for any reason, it delays the next load, may require new permits, but no one really knows for the most part until in the middle of the night when everyone is closed.

We are all working together to bring some resolution to old problems that haven’t been resolved and with the mutual understanding that we want to see these loads move safely and efficiently, we are seeing some real progress. We understand their needs and restrictions and they understand ours, so it is becoming a goal of everyone to get it right; where ever there are problems, work them out if possible, through CTPAC or legislatively if need be.

We will continue to meet on a regular basis to address any problems and to make the process a smoother operation and enhance safety as we go.

Caltrans – Caltrans Transportation Permit Advisory Council (CTPAC) Meeting

We had the following workgroup meetings.

Annual Workgroup –

1. Annuals Permits for 7, 8 & 9 axle units - We reported on the challenges that we’re experiencing in trying to find a GPS company that can work with industry and Caltrans to develop a transponder for our use.
   The transponder has to be able to communicate with the 106 Weigh in Motion (WIM) Scales that are built into the travel lanes of the same highways you travel over every day.
   The purpose is to capture the data and assist in reporting to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) the number of overloads and where they are traveling. This will also keep the trucking industry in check and not be off routes.
   The transponders will communicate with the WIM Scale and Caltrans will be able to know what you weighed and when you traveled over the particular scale. We will continue to work with other companies in order for industry to be issued Annual Permits for 7, 8 & 9-axles.
2. Allow the issuance of Laden Multi-Vehicle Combination Annuals not to exceed established weight. This was a proposal that was denied and we opened it back up for discussion.

Variance Workgroup –

1. Our 4 Group Combination Tridem 60,000 lbs proposal was submitted April 4, 2007. After a conference call with Caltrans we were told they would only accept it if we changed the proposal into two separate addendums, which were submitted in July 2007. There must be some confusion; after two year, we are now informed that our request “isn’t clear.”
2. The Rotator Tow Truck Proposal was discussed. The rotator towing industry made it clear that this was directly affecting their business, which has been operating without incident until Caltrans discovered they had “over looked” a reducibility rule for several years. There will be further discussion on this issue, which may take an addendum to the already existing CTPAC proposal.
3. We submitted a draft example of a trailer that shows minimums and maximums/tolerances using a 15-axle with pusher truck. This configuration will benefit any of those units that are having continued shutdown problem by not have any flexibility on internal dimensions. This has been an ongoing problem and we are finally coming to agreement on how to solve it between CHP, Caltrans and industry, based on the following:
   3’ tolerance on the inner bridge – example 51’ 10” min. – 54’ 10” max.
   1’ tolerance between axle groups – example 15’ 7” min. – 16’ 7” max.
   Minimum between axles - example 4’6 min.
4. Caltrans Structures wants to see all platform trailer permits, even when they are traveling empty. We fail to see a need for this, especially with the state employee furlough program in effect. It would reduce the state’s workload to eliminate any additional time to review a trailer that doesn’t change and has already been inspected by Caltrans Vehicle Inspectors. This requirement adds to the already-delayed permitting process and unnecessary costs. We will submit a proposal to change the Caltrans Structure letter dated 11/09/07, review requirements as they relate to empty platform trailers.

Caltrans requested that industry review the “current” proposals, some which are a couple years old. We are to prioritize them to help facilitate the process, because Caltrans doesn’t want to work on more than one proposal at a time. Industry didn’t have a problem with this; we expect more accountability in moving proposals forward without delay.

The next CTPAC meeting will be in Sacramento on June 17th, 2009. You are welcome to attend and learn how the process works.

City of Alhambra - Recent staff changes may affect issuance of Annual Permits

We had been meeting with the City of Alhambra since October of 1999 and until recently we hadn’t seen any progress until after our October 2008 meeting. We met with Mary Swink, Deputy City Manager / Director of Public Works and thought at the time that we in agreement, but that sometimes isn’t always true, as in this case.

We were told the following, which we reported to you in November.

“It appears an annual permit would work fine. I am going to send my notes, your notes, etc over to the City Attorney for review and request they do whatever it is needed for them to do for us to offer annual permits. All of our fees have to be approved by city council, so this change may require a quick approval by council.

I will keep you posted as we go through the process. I am shooting for January, 2009 to implement the annual permit system.”

We followed up with Ms. Swink at the beginning of February to see how they were progressing on issuing annual permits and found out she was no longer the director and were told the following;

“I have been reassigned; I am now the Director of Utilities for the City of Alhambra. I will forward your email to the new Director. She has the file and she can contact you to see when she might proceed with this program (if she wants to do so)”.

This happens all the time. A director of public works or permit office managers leaving to take another position sometimes takes us back to square one as we work to educate the new incumbent. That is where documentation plays a key role in keeping our goals in focus during these transitions. It may delay things, but we continue to stay focused on the target, in this case it is the issuance of annual permits. We will keep you informed on the progress.

City of San Diego – Progress with public works staff regarding port permit issues

We recently met with Public Works staff to discuss several issues that appeared to be delaying loads being moved through the City of San Diego and its port.

1. The city recently started requiring a valid Caltrans Permit be submitted with the city application before they would issue one of their own. This required a delicate juggling act between the two permitting agencies—an act subject to delay because of any number of reasons. You have to wait on one and then another rather than being able to submit them at the same time, as is done everywhere else.
2. Night moves had to be approved by the Police Department and if you didn’t have your permit submitted to the Police Department by 9:00 am, you could not move until the following evening. As you can imagine, this too is creating unnecessary delays. Worst case if you didn’t get your permit to the Police department by 9:00 am on Friday, you would be unable to move until the following Monday night/Tuesday morning.

Through our discussions we learned these restrictions only applied when you were traveling in and out of the Port. The city said they adopted this requirement after a visit from our friends at Caltrans Structure—despite the fact there are no structures on the route to and from the Port. The Police Department requires a copy of the permit application to have an idea of what is being moved but the department doesn’t have approved the permit. This makes a significant difference in whether your load gets delivered on time or not. We hope with these new clarifications, we will see things moving smoother in and out of the Port of San Diego.

Reaffirming Our Purpose:

If you have any problems with a local agency (city/county/state) and you find yourself asking ‘why are we having to do things this way’ and the agency tells you, ‘this is the way we have always done it’, let us know. We are here to make California transportation operations as smooth, efficient and safe as possible.

Respectfully submitted,

Gregory D. Dineen
Industry Transportation Consultant

cc:

John Hakel, AGC Aimee Shook, DCA

Richard Lambros, BIA Jim Burton, ECA

Michael Vlaming, COA Lee Steinberg, MCOG

Eric Sauer CTA William E. Davis, SCCA

Jeff Hunter, CTTA Doug Ball, SC&RA

Lee Brown, CDTOA