§ 70.15 WEIGHT RESTRICTIONS.
   (A)   General weight restrictions.
      (1)   (a)   Truck hauling permit. All persons, companies, corporations, partnerships, and other legal entities shall be required to obtain a truck hauling permit prior to operating any motor vehicle upon any road within the jurisdiction of the County Highway System if the total gross vehicle weight is in excess of the posted weight limit for said road, as hereinafter provided.
         (b)   Requirement. Each motor vehicle required by this section to have a truck hauling permit shall display the permit on the truck in a place visible from the exterior of the truck.
      (2)   This section shall apply to all highways in the County Highway System under the jurisdiction of the Board of Commissioners, except highways in the State Highway System, and the state maintained routes thereof, through cities and towns.
      (3)   The exemptions set forth below, as contained in I.C. 9-20-2-2, I.C. 9-20-2-1, and I.C. 9-13-2-77, all as amended from time to time, shall apply to this section.
         (a)   I.C. 9-20-2-2, “farm vehicles loaded with a farm product” defined; application of article.
            1.   Section 2(a), as used in this section, states the definition of FARM VEHICLE LOADED WITH A FARM PRODUCT includes a truck hauling unprocessed leaf tobacco.
            2.   Section 2(b) states, except for interstate highway travel, this section does not apply to the following:
               a.   Machinery or equipment used in highway construction or maintenance by the State Department of Transportation, counties, or municipalities;
               b.   Implements of agriculture when used during farming operations or when constructed so that the implements can be moved without material damage to the highways; and
               c.   Farm drainage machinery.
            3.   Section 2(c) states that this section does not apply to firefighting apparatus owned or operated by a political subdivision or volunteer fire department (as defined in I.C. 36-8-12-2).
            4.   Section 2(d) states that, except for interstate highway travel, this section does not limit the width or height of a farm vehicle loaded with a farm product.
         (b)   I.C. 9-20-2-1, application of article; exception to size and weight requirements: notice; permits.
            1.   Section 1(a) states that, except as provided in §§ 1(b) and 1(c), this section does not apply to a vehicle:
               a.   While engaged in the construction of highways; and
               b.   When the movement of the vehicle is confined wholly to highways or roads, or sections of highways or roads that are under construction and not yet open to unlimited public use.
            2.   a.   Section 1(b) states that if the authority having jurisdiction over the construction of the public highways gives written notice to the owner or operator of a vehicle that the vehicle may not be operated in violation of this section without a permit issued by the authority, the owner or operator must obtain a permit from the authority before the vehicle is operated within the highway construction area.
               b.   If written notice is given under § 1(b) and a permit is not obtained by the owner or operator, this section applies to the owner’s or operator’s vehicle while engaged in the construction of a public highway.
            3.   Section 1(d) states the written notice that this section requires from the authority having jurisdiction to the owner or operator may be in the form of any one of the following documents:
               a.   A letter;
               b.   A specifications document;
               c.   A contract document;
               d.   A written agreement; or
               e.   A written document that pertains to the construction work being performed by the owner or operator.
         (c)   I.C. 9-13-2-77, implement of agriculture.
            1.   Section 77(a) defines IMPLEMENT OF AGRICULTURE to mean agricultural implements, pull type and self-propelled, used for the:
               a.   Transport;
               b.   Delivery; or
               c.   Application of crop inputs, including seed, fertilizers, and crop protection products, and vehicles designed to transport these types of agricultural implements.
            2.   Section 77(b) states the bureau shall determine, by rule under I.C. 4-22-2, whether a category of implement of agriculture was designed to be operated primarily:
               a.   In a farm field or on farm premises; or
               b.   On a highway.
      (4)   The Board of Commissioners shall determine, in its sole discretion, the county highways and roads, and portions thereof, which shall be closed or which shall be limited to vehicles not exceeding a total gross vehicle weight, as determined by the Board of Commissioners, for each of said county highways and roads, and as designated by the posting of appropriate signs, as hereinafter provided. The determination of road closings and limitations may be altered or amended from time to time by the addition or deletion of roads, or portions thereof, or by the increase or decrease of weight limits for any of said roads, as shall be determined to be necessary in the sole discretion of the Board of Commissioners.
      (5)   The County Highway Department is now authorized and directed to erect and maintain signs designating the provisions of this section at each end of the portion of any county highway or road affected thereby, and at intersecting highways or roads.
      (6)   The provisions of division (A)(4) above shall not be effective until signs designating the closing or weight limits are erected and maintained at each end of the portion of county highway or road affected thereby, and at all intersecting county highways or roads.
      (7)   Truck hauling permits shall be issued by the County Highway Superintendent’s office, in the County Highway Office Complex. Prior to issuing any truck hauling permit for any vehicle which shall be using a specific county highway or road, the Highway Superintendent shall follow the procedures adopted thereto by the Board of Commissioners, including the following requirements:
         (a)   Prior to issuance.
            1.   Prior to the issuance of any truck hauling permit, the County Highway Superintendent shall review the permit and designate the most appropriate route over the county roads to be permitted, considering the following:
               a.   The place of origin and destination of each load;
               b.   The condition and load limits of various county roadways which provide access;
               c.   The loads to be carried on the permitted roads;
               d.   The frequency of the loads; and/or
               e.   The likely damage to, and relative cost to, the county and the permit applicant of various routes.
            2.   The truck hauling permit shall state which roads the permit is granted for as designated by the County Highway Superintendent, in accordance with this section.
         (b)   Safety features. The Board of Commissioners may, in its sole discretion, require the applicant for a truck hauling permit to construct, at the intersection of said county road with a state highway or road, such safety features as ingress and egress lanes, passing blisters, and other traffic control and caution devices as it deems appropriate for the public health, safety, and welfare, upon the advice of the County Highway Superintendent, and appropriate State Department of Transportation (INDOT) officials, and in reliance upon the Indiana Department of Highways Driveway Permit Handbook issued pursuant to 105 I.A.C. § 7.
         (c)   Indemnification of the county. The applicant shall agree to hold the county, said County Board of Commissioners, and all county employees harmless and agree to indemnify the county, said Board, and/or their employees against any and all claims, actions at law or equity, litigation expenses, judgments, and verdicts that should arise out of said applicant’s use of the roadway, or out of the use, by any person, firm, or corporation, of the roadway for purposes associated with said applicant’s activities. Should any judgment be entered against the county, said Board, and/or its employees as a result of said use, said applicant shall pay the same. The applicant shall, before beginning the use of said roadway, file with the County Auditor a certificate of insurance from an insurance company authorized to do business in the state, showing all peril liability insurance in a minimum of $500,000 and naming the county and the County Board of Commissioners as additional insureds thereon.
         (d)   Bond.
            1.   The applicant for a truck hauling permit shall post with the County Auditor cash and surety bonds, at least 20% of which shall be a cash bond in a form approved by the Board of Commissioners, said bond equaling $200,000 per mile for each mile of surfaced blacktop road to be used, $75,000 per mile for each mile of chip and seal road to be used, and $50,000 per mile for each mile of gravel road to be used by said applicant. Said bonds shall insure, and save harmless, the county from maintenance of, damage to, and repairs to said road while said bonds are in effect.
            2.   For a five-day or one-day hauling duration, the Board of Commissioners may, in its sole discretion, waive any cash bonding requirements thereon after inspection and approval by an authorized representative of the Board of Commissioners.
            3.   Said cash bond may be invested, at the discretion of the individual, partnership, or company filing said bond, in a local depository of public funds in a savings account or certificate of deposit in the name of the County Board of Commissioners, with interest earned thereon, to be credited to said individual, partnership, or company, or in the name of said individual, partnership, or company with a full assignment of said savings account or certificate of deposit to the County Board of Commissioners, with interest earned thereon, to be credited to said individual, partnership, or company. The County Board of Commissioners shall withdraw from said cash bond for the purposes of maintaining and repairing roads for which the bond was filed under the following procedure.
               a.   When the County Highway Superintendent finds that a specified county road, for which a truck hauling permit has been issued, is in need of repair or maintenance, the Superintendent shall give three days notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, or personal delivery, to said permittee to repair or maintain said road to the satisfaction of the Superintendent. If the needed maintenance or repair is not done within three days of delivery of the notice, the Superintendent shall make the necessary repairs or provide the needed maintenance. After the maintenance or repair work is completed, said permittee and the County Auditor shall be notified by the Superintendent by certified mail, return receipt requested, or personal delivery, of the amount expended for such maintenance and repair, which amount shall be paid by said permittee to the County Auditor within seven days. If said amount is not paid by said permittee within said time, the County Board of Commissioners shall withdraw said amount from the cash bond and notify said permittee of the withdrawal.
               b.   Within ten days of delivery of that notification, a cash payment equal to said amount must be deposited by said permittee with the County Auditor, or the County Board of Commissioners may order that said permit be revoked until such a time as said cash payment is made. The procedure hereinabove set forth shall in no way be construed to limit in time or in order any or all other remedies available to the County Board of Commissioners, including, but not limited to, declaring cash and surety bonds breached, enforcing their rights under said surety bond, requiring the permittee to pay the expenses, costs, and attorney’s fees incurred by the Board in enforcing said section, and immediately terminating said permit.
            4.   Each bond posted in accordance with this section shall remain posted throughout the entire period during which the applicant is using the bonded roads with the heavy trucks or equipment. In order to ensure that repairs of hidden damage to the road are reimbursed by the permit holder after the heavy use project is finished, the bonds shall continue to be held by the county for a six-month period after the applicant is no longer utilizing the bonded roads for its heavy trucks or equipment. The bond may be released earlier by the Commissioners if all repairs of damages are completed before the expiration of the six-month period to the satisfaction of the county.
      (8)   No truck hauling permits shall be issued to any individual, partnership, or corporation owing delinquent real or personal property taxes to the county until such delinquency has been paid in full.
      (9)   Law enforcement personnel, owners, and operators of vehicles shall have the same rights upon violation of this section, as set forth in I.C. 9-20-17 and I.C. 9-20-18.
   (B)   Ten-ton weight limit. It shall be unlawful to operate, or cause to be operated, any vehicle, or combination of vehicles, having a weight in excess of ten tons on any county road in the county, excepting vehicles operating for an individual or company which has posted a road bond.
(Ord. 1984-1, passed 2-13-1984; Ord. 2008-04, passed 2-4-2008; Ord. 2018-10, passed 10-2-2018; Ord. 2023-01, passed 2-21-2023) Penalty, see § 70.99