49-1004. PERMITS FOR OVERWEIGHT OR OVERSIZE LOADS — SPECIAL ROUTES AND ANNUAL PERMITS. (1) Upon application in writing to the department or local authorities in charge of or having jurisdiction over a highway, the department or local authorities may in their discretion issue a special permit to the owner or operator of any vehicle allowing vehicles or loads having a greater weight or size than permitted by law to be moved or carried over and on the highways and bridges.

(a) Special permits shall be in either hard copy or digital format and may limit the time of use and operation over the particular highways and bridges which may be traversed and may contain any special conditions and require any undertaking or other security as the department or local authority shall deem to be necessary to protect the highways and bridges from injury, or provide indemnity for any injury to highways and bridges or to persons or property resulting from such operation.

(b) The owner or operator of an overweight or oversize vehicle shall obtain a permit or shall establish intent to obtain a permit by contacting a permit office and receiving a permit number before moving the vehicle on the highways.

(c) All special permits or evidence of intent to obtain a permit, whether in hard copy or digital format, shall be carried in the vehicles to which they refer and shall upon demand be delivered for inspection to any peace officer, authorized agent of the board or local authority, or any officer or employee charged with the care or protection of the highways.

(2) Nonreducible vehicles or combinations of vehicles hauling nonreducible loads at weights in excess of those set forth in section 49-1001, Idaho Code, shall pay fees as set forth in this subsection. Such fees are based on the number of axles on the vehicle or combination of vehicles and the total gross weight.

Column 1

Column 2

Gross weight of vehicle

Gross weight of vehicle

and load in

and load in

Number of axles

pounds

pounds

2

40,001

–

3

54,001

–

4

68,001

–

5

80,001

131,001

6

97,001

148,001

7

114,001

165,001

(a) To determine the maximum allowable permit fee for vehicles with more than seven (7) axles, the table can be extended by adding seventeen thousand (17,000) pounds to the last listed weight in both columns 1 and 2 for each added axle.

(b) Permit fees for column 1 shall start at four cents (4¢) per mile and increase four cents (4¢) per mile for each additional two thousand (2,000) pound increment up to the weight indicated in column 2. Permit fees for column 2 shall start at one dollar and two cents ($1.02) per mile and increase seven cents (7¢) per mile for each additional two thousand (2,000) pound increment.

(c) Vehicles operating at weights less than the starting weights per axle configuration listed in column 1 shall be charged four cents (4¢) per mile.

(d) For vehicles operating with axles wider than eight (8) feet six (6) inches or axles with more than four (4) tires per axle, the fee may be reduced by the board or other proper authority having jurisdiction over a highway.

(3) It shall be unlawful for any person to violate, or to cause or permit to be violated, the limitations or conditions of special permits, and any violation shall be deemed for all purposes to be a violation of the provisions of this chapter.

(4) An annual special route permit authorizing travel on designated routes shall be issued by the department or may, in its discretion, be issued by a local authority for operation of vehicles with a legal maximum gross weight of at least one hundred five thousand five hundred one (105,501) pounds but not exceeding one hundred twenty-nine thousand (129,000) pounds. Such routes on nonstate and noninterstate highways shall be determined by the local authority for those roads under its jurisdiction. No local public highway agency shall approve a route which provides a thoroughfare for interstate carriers to pass through the state. State routes designated by the department and local authorities shall be identified on a map entitled "Designated Routes up to 129K."

(5) An annual administrative permit fee for operating on designated routes at the weights specified in subsection (4) of this section shall be set by the department for travel on state routes. Effective July 1, 2019, until June 30, 2021, the annual administrative permit fee shall not exceed fifty-five dollars ($55.00) per vehicle and such fee shall be used to defray the costs of the department to issue permits, provided however that five dollars ($5.00) of each permit fee shall be submitted to the local authority technical analysis fund. Local authorities are authorized to issue special permits and such permits shall be in either hard copy or digital format. Administrative permit fees for permits issued by a local authority shall be retained by the local authority to cover administrative costs, and administrative permit fees for permits issued by the department shall be retained by the department to cover administrative costs. In addition to the annual administrative permit fee and the appropriate registration fee for weights up to one hundred five thousand five hundred (105,500) pounds, the appropriate vehicle registration fees for weights over one hundred five thousand five hundred (105,500) pounds shall be calculated and collected in accordance with the fee schedules set forth in section 49-432 or 49-434, Idaho Code.

(6) (a) In any action or proceeding brought for the purpose of setting aside a special permit issued pursuant to this section, in which any party seeks a stay or seeks a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction against the department, local authority, the state of Idaho or any party requesting the permit, the court may require bond as provided in rule 65(c) of the Idaho rules of civil procedure, in an amount not to exceed ten percent (10%) of the shipper’s or transporter’s insured value of the product or material to be transported under the provisions of the permit. If any attorney’s fees and/or costs are awarded to the department or other state actor, such bond may be used to satisfy that award and all awarded amounts shall be paid to the state highway account established in section 40-702, Idaho Code.

(b) Where there is a final judgment in an action or proceeding brought for the purpose of setting aside a special permit issued pursuant to this section against the party or parties who brought such action or proceeding, the court may determine the actual damages resulting from the action or proceeding caused to the department or other state actor and may award up to that amount to the party or parties.

History:

[49-1004, added 1988, ch. 265, sec. 275, p. 719; am. 1998, ch. 108, sec. 2, p. 372; am. 1998, ch. 158, sec. 3, p. 542; am. 2000, ch. 418, sec. 16, p. 1359; am. 2003, ch. 315, sec. 2, p. 861; am. 2005, ch. 63, sec. 1, p. 220; am. 2007, ch. 257, sec. 1, p. 763; am. 2007, ch. 258, sec. 1, p. 776; am. 2008, ch. 156, sec. 1, p. 447; am. 2011, ch. 277, sec. 1, p. 753; am. 2013, ch. 152, sec. 1, p. 352; am. 2018, ch. 26, sec. 1, p. 47; am. 2019, ch. 179, sec. 1, p. 575; am. 2019, ch. 180, sec. 1, p. 578.]