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August 19, 2004
Construction
Industry Advancement Fund and CDTOA
Dear Trustees
and CDTOA EC:
Following are some of
the major issues your Industry Transportation Consultant
has been dealing with to date.
Caltrans has put the Tridem Axles
proposal on hold until it has reviewed and responded to
letters from Industry in opposition of the change. I have
requested that the proposal be separated into two issues,
Fixed Loads and Hauled Loads. Those opposing the change,
have concerns with Haul Loads, not
Fixed Loads. We have many members that this will affect
and requested that they be separated.
I attended a meeting of the California Trucking Association,
CTA, where this issue was discussed and I requested this
on two separate occasions and was told that CTA wanted
to keep these issues together because they felt they would
have more leverage to convince these other states that
reciprocity was the answer that California wanted to see.
I expressed the fact that the Construction Industry has
no interest in this Interstate Heavy haul issue. When
a Contractor calls to have his equipment moved, he gets
a price from point A to point B, what trailer you put
it on, makes no difference to him as long as it gets there.
If you choose to use a tridem or a trunion trailer is
no concern to the Contractor. He is looking for the best
price and a reliable hauler.
This proposal has been put on hold at the request of Industry.
Caltrans has approved
our request from November 8, 2003, to the current Reducible
Load Policy.
"Tow Legal Vehicle behind Extra Legal Fixed Load
Vehicle". This change should be implemented by October
13, 2004
Caltrans has approved
the Crane Boom Dolly proposal submitted by the work group.
This change should be implemented by October 13, 2004.
Caltrans has approved
our request from November 8, 2003, Hours of Travel 24
/ 7. This change is currently waiting on Pilot Car maps
to be approved and printed. This change should be implemented
by November 1, 2004.
Caltrans has also
approved the Surface Transportation Assistance Act (STAA)
Annual Permits. This change is currently waiting on Pilot
Car maps to be approved and printed. This change should
be implemented by November 1, 2004.
Caltrans has approved
our request from June 30, 2004, Uniform Pilot Car Requirements
for Green and Yellow Routes. This change is currently
waiting on Pilot Car maps to be approved and printed.
This change should be implemented by November 1, 2004.
The City of Lancaster
required that any load exceeding 10' in width, 14' in
height, and 65' in length would require an inspection.
This inspection doesn't come without a price of $80.00.
They also increased their permit fee to $37.00 as of July
1, 2004, which brings the permit cost to $117.00. I have
been working with the City and explained that they can't
increase these fees. They have agreed that an inspection
would be required for loads exceeding 15' in width, 18'
in height, 110' in length for a conventional 9-axles,
125' in length for a rear steering unit and loads exceeding
#250,000 in weight.
The City continues to feel that C.V.C. 35795 (b) doesn't
apply to them, we are still in discussion to resolve the
problem of charging $37.00 a permit and we are continuing
in discussion with the City to lower their permit fees
to the $16.00 mandated by the C.V.C.
The City of Santa Ana has also been requested to
lower their permit fees from $21.06 to $16.00. The City
is reviewing their permit fees schedule.
The City of Riverside:
A member called regarding the City's Pilot Car requirements.
The City was requiring that any load exceeding 8' of overhang
required a Pilot Car. This happen to involve a legal crane,
which was not over width, height or length, but required
a Pilot Car because of the overhang. We contacted the
City and they have agreed to change their current policy
to any loads exceeding 25' of overhang would require a
Pilot Car.
The City of South
Pasadena: We are requesting the City to allow permits
to be faxed, rather than having to be picked up in person.
The City of South Pasadena is also being requested top
allow the County issue permits on their behalf. By allowing
the County to issue their permits, will be a significant
safety benefit to both the traveling public and our infrastructure.
There are Cities routing loads over structures that are
not rated for some of the weights and by having the County
in control it will protect our infrastructure.
The City of Temecula:
I was contacted by a member regarding the strict regulations
that the city has requiring the hauling of material within
the City. The City has limited the number of trucks, hours
a day, the route and extra equipment needed to maintain
their roadways. We are working with the City and educating
them on the Trucking Industry. The City is growing rapidly
and they are going to need to understand that with growth
comes inconvenience. This inconvenience is something that
they're going to need to accept if they want to keep their
construction cost down. When projects are in the planning
stages is when limitation on import and export need to
be made. The Trucking Industry bids on these jobs sometimes
months ahead and then the job gets ready to start and
their routes and regulations change. This can be, and
is, very costly to the hauler.
The City of La Quinta:
A member called, who was trying to obtain an oversized
load permit and was told that he had to purchase a business
license at $50.00. I contacted the City to inform them
Trucking Companies currently obtain Motor Carrier Permits
and these fees are collected through that permit. The
City has agreed to discontinue to charge the Industry
for a business license.
The City of Indio:
City Council on August 18, 2004th approved the uniform
Truck Route based on the Primary Roads in the Thomas Guide
Map book. The will have all "NO TRUCKS " signs
taken down on any of these routes within the week.
The Signs are down as of August 24, 2004.
Sincerely,
Gregory D. Dineen
Industry Transportation Consultant
Cc: John Hakel, AGC Jim Burton, SCCA
Gary Futral, ECA Seth Hammond, MCOG
Richard Lambros, BIA Lee Brown, CDTOA
Aimee Shook, DCA
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