Heavier vehicle weights good for economy, bad for local roads

An idea to increase the maximum weight for vehicles using county roads might be good for the economy, but would come with the need for a massive upgrade to most of Kane County's roads that carries an "astounding" price tag.

The Transportation Committee of the Kane County Board learned the monetary impact to the county of a bill that's already passed the Illinois House that would increase vehicle weight limits to 80,000 pounds. The current limit is 73,280 pounds, a mark set when the nation first created the interstate road system. Heavier trucks containing more goods might mean more efficiency for some businesses, but the added weight, literally, would create a new problem.

Many of the county's roads don't have the muscle to handle more strain. Kane County Transportation Director Carl Schoedel estimates about 250 of the more than 300 miles of county roads have had no significant structural upgrades since they were first constructed. If the weight limits are increased, the local roads might not be able to handle the pounding.

"We have concerns in terms of the integrity of the pavement itself," Schoedel said. "We have a concern in terms of the bridges being able to handle the load."

Structural upgrades can fortify the roads to handle the heavier weight, but at backbreaking cost. In 2007, the transportation department estimated the costs of upgrading a 4-mile segment of Keslinger Road to handle weights up to 80,000 pounds to be $3.4 million. That translates to about $850,000 per mile. Applying that same cost to 250 miles of road comes to $212,500,000. For perspective, that's nearly enough money to fund all county operations for three years.