Judge Upholds NYC Bridge Restrictions
New York authorities acted legally last week when imposing weight restrictions on heavy trucks that use city’s Throgs Neck Bridge, New York Newsday reported Friday.
After a day-long hearing in Manhattan Thursday, State Supreme Court Justice Paul Feinman denied a temporary restraining order sought by a consortium of trucking and construction companies who had argued that weight restrictions were an economic hardship, the paper said.
He ruled the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority’s restrictions were neither arbitrary nor unreasonable steps to ensure that the bridge does not suffer further structural damage under the weight of trucks weighing in excess of 80,000 pounds, Newsday said.
The trucking industry is asking for an injunction to allow trucks weighing up to 105,000 pounds to cross the Throgs Neck and Triborough bridges, according to the trucking and construction companies that challenged the restrictions.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority said no vehicles over 80,000 pounds would be allowed to travel across the bridge as part of normal traffic, though they may apply for exceptions for off-hours crossings, the Associated Press reported.
Two years ago, the authority developed special handling policies for trucks weighing up to 105,000 pounds and having six or seven axles Newsday reported. The trucks were permitted to cross the bridges at any time, but were forced to use the center lane at 30 mph, the paper said.
