Thursday’s Senate vote approved House amendments to Senate Bill 2418. These changes would allow for a higher weight tolerance for harvest permit vehicles as well as vehicles loading and unloading at state port facilities. It would go into effect July 1 if signed by the governor. One of the 12 senators that voted against it was Sen. Willie Simmons (D-Cleveland), who is the chairman of the Senate Transportation committee. Trucks can haul up to 80,000 pounds on all Mississippi roads. 84,000 pounds is allowed with state-issued harvest permits. These permit holders pay $25 for $25. They are only available to those who own or operate vehicles that transport specific materials. Rules do not apply to roads of low weight. At the moment, trucks hauling heavy loads cannot exceed 80,000 pounds. This is equivalent to 40,000 pounds per truck. There is a 5 percent tolerance for each axle. It is usually within a single set of wheels. There is still room to add another 2,000 pounds at either end. The bill allows for an increase in tolerance to allow products to shift while trucks are on the road. This bill proposes to increase that tolerance to 10%, and allow up to 4,000 pounds to each end rather than 2,000. Sen. Jenifer Branning (R-Philadelphia), was the proposal author and asked the Senate to approve the House changes to the bill that were made to it the week before. Branning stated that the House made two simple changes to the bill. They removed the reverse repealer, extended the repealer through 2022, and added clarifying language… for vehicles that are not permitted to operate under this permit. Dick Hall, the chairman of the Mississippi Transportation Commission spoke out against the bill earlier in the week. He expressed concern that increasing pressure on Mississippi’s bridges could put lives at risk. Hall stated Monday that the bill would likely result in nearly 1,400 more bridges being closed or posted in Mississippi. Most of these bridges are county bridges. “… It’s going cost millions.”