“On the road again”

OLYMPIA — The Senate today passed a bill sponsored by Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, D-Camano Island, to allow farm implements that exceed current weight restrictions to travel on Washington highways.

“If you live in a farm community, you know that the machinery they use in modern agriculture is getting bigger,” said Haugen, chair of the Senate Transportation Committee. “But our farmers still need to be able to use public roads to move that equipment from one field to the next, so we’re going to enable them to do that with this bill.”

Senate Bill 6273 allows Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) to increase the weight restriction for vehicles that may operate on public roads with a farm implement special permit. While the weight restrictions are increased from 45,000 to 65,000 pounds, vehicles operating on a farm implement special permit must still comply with the statute that governs the distribution of the vehicle's weight over a specified wheelbase and number of axles.

“This is going to be a big help towards preserving agricultural jobs throughout the state,” said Don Heitmann, Corporate Personnel Manager at Twin City Foods, who contacted Haugen and requested her help in making sure that farmers could do their jobs. “We pride ourselves on transporting our farm machinery as safely as possible, and this will give us clear guidance by making it legal for us to move our equipment on the roads.”

SB 6273 passed the Senate on a vote of 45 to 0, and now proceeds to the House for consideration.

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