(a) The maximum wheel load of any one wheel of any vehicle, trackless trolley, load, object, or structure operated or moved upon improved public highways, streets, bridges, or culverts shall not exceed 650 pounds per inch width of pneumatic tire, measured as prescribed by Section 440.03.
(b) The weight of vehicle and load imposed upon the road surface of any part of the interstate system or, except as permitted by subsection (d) hereof, upon a road surface that is not part of the interstate system by vehicles with pneumatic tires shall not exceed any of the following weight limitations:
(1) On any one axle, 20,000 pounds;
(2) On any tandem axle, 34,000 pounds;
(3) On any two or more consecutive axles, the maximum weight as determined by application of the formula provided in subsection (c) hereof.
(c) For purposes of division (b)(3) of this section, the maximum gross weight on any two or more consecutive axles shall be determined by application of the following formula:
W = 500 ((LN/N-1) + 12N + 36).
In this formula, W equals the overall gross weight on any group of two or more consecutive axles to the nearest 500 pounds, L equals the distance in feet between the extreme of any group of two or more consecutive axles, and N equals the number of axles in the group under consideration. However, two consecutive sets of tandem axles may carry a gross load of thirty-four thousand pounds each, provided the overall distance between the first and last axles of such consecutive sets of tandem axles is thirty- six feet or more.
(d) Through June 30, 1996, as an alternative to Division (8) of this section, the weight of vehicle and load imposed upon a road surface that is not part of the interstate system by vehicles with pneumatic tires shall not exceed the following:
(1) By any two successive axles, spaced four feet or less apart, and weighed simultaneously, 24,000 pounds;
(2) By any two successive axles, spaced more than four feet apart, and weighed simultaneously, 34,000 pounds, plus 1,000 pounds per foot, or fraction thereof, over four feet, not to exceed 4,000 pounds.
(e) The weight of vehicle and load imposed upon a road surface that is not part of the interstate system by vehicles with pneumatic tires, by any three successive load-bearing axles designed to equalize the load between such axles and spaced so that each such axle of the three- axle group is more than four feet from the next axle in the three-axle group and so that the spacing between the first axle and the third axle of the three-axle group is no more than nine feet, shall be computed using either of the following methods:
(1) Such load-bearing three-axle group shall be weighed simultaneously as a unit and shall not exceed 48,000 pounds. The total weight of vehicle and load shall not exceed thirty-eight thousand pounds plus an additional 900 pounds for each foot of spacing between the front axle and the rearmost axle of the vehicle.
(2) Such load-bearing three-axle group shall be weighed simultaneously as a unit and shall not exceed 42,500 pounds. The total weight of vehicle and load of a six-axle vehicle combination, with at least twenty feet of spacing between the front axle and rearmost axle, shall not exceed 54,000 pounds plus an additional 600 pounds for each foot of spacing between the front axle and the rearmost axle of the vehicle.
The total weight of vehicle and load utilizing any combination of axles, other than as provided for three-axle groups in this section, shall not exceed 38,000 pounds plus an additional 900 pounds for each foot of spacing between the front axle and rearmost axle of the vehicle.
(f) Notwithstanding subsections (b), (d), and (e) hereof, the maximum overall gross weight of vehicle and load imposed upon the road surface shall not exceed 80,000 pounds.
(g) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, when a vehicle is towing another vehicle, such drawbar or other connection shall be of a length such as will limit the spacing between nearest axles of the respective vehicles to a distance not in excess of twelve feet and six inches.
(h) As used in this section, "tandem axle" means two consecutive axles whose centers may be included between parallel transverse vertical planes spaced more than forty inches but not more than ninety-six inches apart, extending across the full width of the vehicle.
(i) This section does not apply to passenger bus type vehicles operated by a regional transit authority pursuant to Ohio R.C. 306.30 to 306.54.
(Ord. 96-93. Passed 10-13-93.)