Michigan has lifted seasonal weight restrictions on state and local roads nearly a month earlier than usual. Officials said the move was in response to coronavirus and the need to keep the supply chain moving.
The Governor signed two executive order, one lifting seasonal weight restrictions on state roads and the other doing the same on local roads through April 13.
The new allowance covers trucks that provide “direct assistance” to relief efforts, like trucks hauling supplies to stores.
Jeff Cranson with the Michigan Department of Transportation said the rules will keep trucks moving supplies during the coronavirus pandemic, even if they’re stopped for being too heavy.
"If they’ve, you know, pulled over a truck because they thought that they exceeded the weight limits and they said 'well, you know, I’m taking food to Krogers' then they would say 'ok, go ahead."
Cranson said he’s not sure how much of an impact the new rules will have on the condition of Michigan roads. But right now "we all have to make decisions” and “react in this time of emergency”
