A commercial vehicle exceeding the legal limits on size and/or weight for a jurisdiction must have a permit to operate within that jurisdiction. During a permit review, bridge evaluation for the particular permit vehicle may be required, depending on the jurisdiction’s laws, regulations, and/or practices. Different jurisdictions in the United States have various laws and regulations that can make the travel of the permit vehicle difficult and inefficient. The practice of bridge evaluation for permit review also varies, sometimes significantly, among the agencies issuing these permits. This synthesis report summarizes current bridge evaluation practices and permit policies for overweight vehicles in the United States, focusing on their nonuniformity. In the United States, oversize and overweight vehicle permitting is determined by a highly complex system that involves many agencies at the state and local levels. The governing policies and regulations vary extensively and significantly in terms of permit type and processing operation. There is a definite need for enhanced uniformity in this area. In addition, bridge evaluation for permit review also varies noticeably among the state-level agencies, primarily owing to the variation in interpretation of the AASHTO specifications, and possibly also the result of differences in the computer software programs used. Most state agencies believe that having electronic bridge models that can be used repeatedly for bridge evaluation is an effective approach to enhanced uniformity for permit review. The multistate permit programs of the New England Transportation Consortium and the Southeastern Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials are successful models of improved uniformity in permitting. One permit issued in each program can be valid for traveling across all participating states, avoiding the need for multiple permits from different states for interstate trips. Such permits are issued for vehicles falling within certain parameters for dimensions, gross vehicle weight, and axle weights. A survey questionnaire was distributed to U.S. state and Canadian transportation agencies. Forty-four transportation agencies from the United States and 10 from Canada responded. (Author/publisher) This report may be accessed by Internet users at http://www.trb.org/publications/nchrp/nchrp_syn_359.pdf
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