A. 
Permits may be issued for overweight vehicles and objects if they have been reasonably disassembled [625 ILCS 5/15-301] and the street system can carry the weight. Overweight moves may consist of only a single object. Overweight equipment may be moved with normal components attached.
B. 
The Public Works Department may require verification of the weight of the vehicle and load prior to issuing a permit when there is reason to believe the requested weight is incorrect.
[Ord. No. 2018-93]
[Ord. No. 2004-5]
Fire apparatus or equipment designed for snow and ice removal owned or operated by governmental agencies, implements of husbandry temporarily operated or towed upon a highway, and vehicles and loads operated by a public utility when transporting equipment required for emergency repairs are exempt from weight limitations.
All requests for overweight moves are considered. However, due to the physical capacity of the highways and bridges, practical maximum weights have been established. Although many bridges will not carry these weights, routes are generally available to most destinations. The Practical Maximum Weights are:
A. 
Six or more axle tractor semitrailer combination 120,000 pounds gross; 48,000 pounds on drive tandem; 60,000 pounds on semitrailer three or more axle tandem.
B. 
Five-axle tractor semitrailer combination 100,000 pounds gross; maximum of 48,000 pounds on either tandem.
C. 
Four-or-more-axle vehicle (axle spacing 23 feet or more): 76,000 pounds gross; maximum of 44,000 pounds on one tandem and 44,000 pounds on the other.
D. 
Three-or-more-axle vehicle (axle spacing 18 feet or more): maximum 68,000 pounds gross; 21,000 pounds on one axle and 48,000 pounds on the tandem.
E. 
Two-axle vehicle: maximum 48,000 pounds, neither axle exceeds 25,000 pounds.
[Ord. No. 2004-5]
Sections 15-301(b) and (f) of The Illinois Size and Weight Law allow the permittee to travel to a certified scale to verify the axle and gross weights of an overweight load when he is uncertain of the correct weights. The following conditions apply.
A. 
The permittee must, on his application, request that he be routed to a certified scale, the location of which he has designated on the application.
B. 
The scale must be the nearest scale to the permittee's origin that has been certified by the Illinois Department of Agriculture (State weigh stations included). "Nearest scale" for permit loads with weights not exceeding practical maximums is defined as a scale within 25 miles of the permitted load's origin.
C. 
The permittee must indicate the requested routing.
D. 
Due to the volume of permits handled, the Public Works Department cannot assist the permittee in determining the closest certified scale. By approving the routing to the scale as requested by the applicant and indicating the weight of the load is to be checked at a designated scale, the Public Works Department in no way implies that it is the closest certified scale to the permittee's origin. If a police officer finds there is a closer certified scale, he may require the driver to travel to that scale; however, it is that officer's responsibility to verify the routes can accommodate the load.
[Ord. No. 2018-93]
A. 
When the permittee has requested travel to a designated scale and the routing and scale have been specified in the permit by the Public Works Department the permittee shall be deemed in compliance with the weight provisions of the permit provided the axle or gross weights do not exceed any of the permitted limits by more than the following amounts:
Type
Limit
(pounds)
Single axle
2,000
Tandem axle
3,000
Gross
5,000
B. 
If the permittee is stopped by a police officer while enroute to the scale specified in the permit, the police officer may accompany the permittee to the designated scale and witness the weighing, or the officer may direct the permittee to a closer certified scale. However, the officer assumes responsibility for ensuring the route he selects to the alternate scale can safely accommodate the load. The officer may contact the Public Works Department if he is unsure of the capacity of the route.
C. 
If after checking the weights at the scale, the permittee finds the weights are within the limits indicated on the permit, he may proceed to his destination by the routes indicated in the permit. However, the permittee is subject to all normal enforcement action.
D. 
If the permittee finds the load exceeds one or more of the limits specified in the permit, but is within the tolerances indicated in Subsection A he must contact the Public Works Department and either obtain a revised permit as provided in § 29-2717 of this Ordinance, or reduce his weights to those specified in his permit before proceeding. Under the provisions of Section 15-301(f) of The Illinois Size and Weight Law, he is not subject to arrest for being overweight while at or enroute to the designated scale unless he is found to be in excess of his permit limits by more than the weight tolerance in Subsection A.
E. 
If the load exceeds one or more of the limits specified in the permit by an amount in excess of the tolerances indicated in Subsection A, the permittee is subject to arrest if a police officer witnesses the weighing or if the permittee moves the load from the scale premises without either first adjusting the load to within the limits specified in the permit or obtaining a new permit that covers the movement. There shall be no refund of fees for any permit so exceeded, nor will there be any reduction in the fee for the new permit.
[Ord. No. 2018-93]