Tuesday, January 05, 2010

Frozen Road Law Goes Into Effect

This may be an unfamiliar law for some of our southern readers. 

Wisconsin’s frozen road law goes into effect in central and southwestern Wisconsin on Wednesday, January 6 at 12:01 a.m. in a region designated by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) as Zones 3 and 4 – roughly between US 10 and WIS 33 in central Wisconsin between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River and west of WIS 78 in southwestern Wisconsin. The declaration for Zones 1 and 2 went into effect on December 20. The frozen road declaration for zone 5 in the southeastern portion of the state goes into effect on Thursday, January 7 at 12:01 a.m. A map of affected highways in each of the 5 zones is available at the WisDOT Web site.

The frozen road law, which permits trucks carrying peeled or unpeeled forest products cut crosswise, not including woodchips, or salt and sand for winter maintenance to carry heavier loads, will be in effect on all state and U.S.-marked highways until approximately early March, unless thawing necessitates an earlier cancellation of the provision or continued cold weather allows for an extension of the declaration period.

(5) Comments
Posted by Owen at 1725 hrs
Law

  1. You’re right; it’s certainly an unfamiliar law, and an unfamiliar concept as well. I grew up in the Texas Panhandle, where snow removal, while certainly not as extensive as in Wisconsin, is nevertheless an ongoing part of life during the winter.

    I don’t understand why extra weight would be allowed at all, much less at a time when the roads are already under stress from the freeze/thaw cycle of being covered in ice and then that ice being melted with salt/chemicals/warming temperatures. I can understand larger loads for snow removal vehicles, but why an exemption for lumber products? Does the lumber industry just have better lobbyists than everyone else?

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on January 06, 2010 at 1746 hrs


  2. The process of freezing and thawing causes more stress on the road, but once the surface and subsurfaces are frozen solid it can take more weight without damage.  Understand that when it stays below freezing for months at a time, there’s no chance that a little more snow melting on the surface is going to introduce any more stress to the roadway.

    And yes, for decades when the paper industry was huge in Wisconsin (still is to a degree), the lumber lobbyists were better.

    Posted by Owen on January 06, 2010 at 1803 hrs


  3. OK. I wasn’t taking into account the idea of “below freezing for months at a time.” That’s kind of the beauty of Panhandle weather during the winter. A foot or so of snow is a semi-regular occurence (and 3-4 inches is very common), but the accumulation rarely lasts more than a week or two. Then it’s 65 degrees again and you can play golf.

    Take away the day-in and day-out howling winds, and the Texas Panhandle has perfect weather. My theory is that the constant howling of the wind is what causes such a virulent strain of redneckery in that part of the country.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on January 07, 2010 at 1153 hrs


  4. Yeah, in Southern Wisconsin, the frost line is set at 48”, meaning that at 4’ you shouldn’t encounter any more frost / frozen earth.  Northern WI likely has a deeper frost line.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on January 07, 2010 at 1210 hrs


  5. Amusing side note for y’all. It’s supposed to get to around 20 degrees here in Austin tonight. And actually stay there for a day and a half or so! People are going into total freakout. It’s really pretty funny.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on January 07, 2010 at 1634 hrs


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