The road and bridge construction company Kauno tiltai, which belongs to the group of Lithuanian transport infrastructure companies, Tiltra Group, has equipped the first transport control post in Lithuania. The purpose of this post located near Klaipėda is to check the weight of all heavy vehicles (weighting more than 3.5 tons) driving along the highway.
The state commission, which has carried out the assessment of the object, acknowledged its suitability for operation at the end of last week.
According to Technical Manager of Kauno tiltai Vitalijus Popovas, after the transport control post is opened, all goods vehicles coming from Klaipėda or Kaunas will be directed for weighting and technical inspection by road signs. Initial weight check will be carried out automatically by electronic sensors without stopping a vehicle.
Goods vehicles with no excess weight will be allowed to drive away, whereas vehicles with excess weight will be directed by road signs (reversing traffic lights) to the territory of the post for detailed inspection. The planned average duration of checking one vehicle and executing all necessary documents in case of violations is about half an hour. Vehicles which do not met the requirements will not be allowed to leave the control post, but instead will be directed to the site for reloading the cargo.
Currently, in order to protect Lithuanian road surface and bridges from the damage done by overladen vehicles and comply with the existing regulatory acts, the maximum gross weight of a vehicle is 40 tons, and the maximum axle load is 11.5 tons. Before 1 May 2004 (the date of Lithuania’s accession to the European Union), goods vehicles were weighted in customs posts. Afterwards, the State Road Transport Inspectorate carried out regular inspections of axle load and gross weight of vehicles on Lithuanian roads.
The project of the first transport control post in Lithuania is valued at LTL 8.64 million (VAT excluded). The construction of the post commenced in September 2008.