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A week after the Washington County Commissioners addressed their concerns about semi-trucks and trailers driving on the County's roadways, a resolution was passed and more discussion was held.

The resolution that was approved by the Commissioners was for the ordering of a certain weight limit upon the Washington County Highway System. District One Commissioner Mitch Antle said the Washington County Board of Commissioners has the ability to set or alter limitations (i.e. speed limits or weight limits) on given roads. He said the purpose of the resolution was to convey that information to the Department of Public Safety, more specifically with Troop S.

The last resolution on file with the Department of Public Safety Troop S was from 2008. Antle said the resolution solely focused on bridge structures. He said the new resolution was something they needed to look into.

The Washington County Commissioners noticed almost immediately that there were deficiencies in the old resolution. Antle said they realized that there were sections of road that weren't identified where Washington County might have a speed limit reduction or weight issue. He said District Two Commissioner Mike Bouvier ran into a specific case that he wanted to address by way of Monday's resolution. More on that story here.

The Washington County Commissioners plan to revisit this situation again after their bi-annual bridge inspection this October or November. This is so they can provide full-transparency with one resolution with the Department of Public Safety - Troop S that they can hopefully revisit and revise as needed every two years.

Commissioner Antle said the information will allow for the Oklahoma Highway Patrol to enter onto Washington County's off-system roadways to effectively control traffic movement. He said the Washington County Sheriff's Office always has this ability at their discretion within the County, but the OHP does not unless the Commissioners invite them in by way of resolution.

District Three Commissioner Mike Dunlap said he had a constituent call his office on Friday to talk about the semi traffic concerns on Gap Road. Commissioner Dunlap said Gap Road that cannot handle this truck traffic because the trucks are going around blind corners and they have to use their air brakes to slow down. He added that Gap Road is a quarter-inch chip and seal road, meaning these trucks could easily damage this roadway as well.

While they can't keep trucks off of the roads, Commissioner Dunlap said they had talked about coming up with a mechanism to close Gap Road to truck traffic. Commissioner Dunlap said they are somewhat limited on how they can monitor the area for 18-wheelers wanting to use the roadway. He said they had a truck flip on its side two or three years ago along Gap Road, and he said the hope is to prevent that from happening again.

Bruce Martin, the Division 8 County Bridge Coordinator for the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, told the Washington County Commissioners that they are entitled to so many miles of major collector roads, and they can change their location. Martin said now is the time to consider changing the location of the major collectors with the 2020 Census in play. He said they have to consider the fact that district lines could change based upon the result that come in from the census.

In terms of closing the roads to semi-trucks and trailers, Martin told the Washington County Commissioners that they could go through with that action if they pass a resolution stating that a certain roadway (i.e. Gap Road) is closed to truck traffic. He said the resolution would have to be sent to Troop S as well as the Sheriff's Office.

Commissioner Antle said the biggest issue they face is truck drivers being directed to the quickest routes possible. He said the quickest route does not necessarily mean it is the best route, especially when the Commissioners are doing what they can to protect Washington County's Highway System.

Commissioner Bouvier's resolution called for a posted weight limit of 15 tons (30,000 pounds). Commissioner Bouvier said this would still allow for dump trucks and school busses to travel across the area. More on last week's discussion leading to Monday's resolution can be found here.