D.C. to Install Truck-Weight Sensors on Inbound Highway

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he District of Columbia announced plans to install electronic truck-weight sensors on Interstate 295 as part of an effort to catch overweight trucks coming into the city, the Washington Times reported Thursday.

Bill Rice, a spokesman for the city’s Department of Transportation told the Times the sensors would be “a virtual weight station.” Rice said the system was the first of its kind, the Times reported.

Rice said the sensors would cost $1 million to build and is being installed because heavy truck traffic is damaging I-295, which carries traffic from I-95 into the city.

Trucks flagged as overweight will be flagged down and ticketed immediately, the Time said. Fines will be $100 for the first 5,000 pounds over the limit and $6 for each additional 100 pounds. The truck weight limit on the interstate highway system is 80,000 pounds.