“We are within two weeks of opening those stations back up,” said Bob Blankenship, Manager of Enforcement for the Public Service Commission before a legislative committee last week. “Brand new weight stations, but still the same scales.”
The buildings have been finished for quite a while, but Blankenship said the delay has come in calibrating the scales. The equipment was turned off for so long, Blankenship said they detected problems when they finally were able to restore electricity to them.
Under state code the weigh station facilities are maintained by the Department of Highways, but the enforcement and operation of those facilities falls to employees of the Public Service Commission. The two agencies work closely on training and maintaining the operations.
Currently the state has the scales on I-64 at Hurricane ready to return to service. They also maintain scales on I-70 near
“We have asked whenever there is an upgrade to U.S. Route 35 and it’s completed all the way through, we would like to have an area to establish a weight station on Route 35,” Blankenship said.
Although the facilities are built to enforce weight limits on highway transportation, Blankenship told lawmakers they are revenue generators. The Federal Transportation Administration pays the state for the enforcement of weight restrictions each year.
