Poster 23-20

Investigation of Heavier-Than-Expected Vehicle Weights at Non-Interstate WIM Site in Georgia

PI: Sung-Hee Sonny Kim

Co-PI(s): Mi Geum Chorzepa

Institution(s): University of Georgia

Abstract

With increased container capacity at the Port of Savannah, it is critically important to build reliable transportation infrastructure and provide superior road connections to interstates. The main goals of this project are to conduct field investigations of pavement and bridge structures in the vicinity of the Savannah Port area, including routes connecting the Garden city and Ocean terminals with interstates, evaluate their reliability using the latest Weigh-In-Motion (WIM) data, and identify maintenance needs and future design requirements that may be affected by traffic changes, including vehicle counts, classification, and weight changes derived as a result of the Savannah Port Deepening project and terminal expansions. Additionally, safety and potential distress evaluation and monitoring of pavement and bridge structures is a crucial task for responsible transportation agencies. The Federal Government allows up to 100,000 lbs for containerized freight trucks traveling to and from ports with certain restrictions. The Georgia General Assembly has allowed increases to single and tandem axle weights as well as overall gross vehicle weights on trucks operating off of the interstate. These increases are more than 25% of the federally allowed weights. The impact of these heavier vehicles and the repeated load cycles on Georgia?s bridges and roads need to be investigated.

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