(a) 
Restrictions; exceptions and conditions.
(1) 
Vehicles having a combined gross weight over 26,000 pounds ("heavy vehicles") shall not travel within the municipal boundaries of the city, except as may be allowed under the terms of this section.
(2) 
Vehicles having a combined gross weight of more than 10,000 pounds shall not travel on any road in which residences are located, except as may be allowed under the terms of this section.
(3) 
A vehicle subject to this section shall be equipped and maintained as required by Texas Transportation Code section 725.021 to prevent loose material from escaping by blowing or spilling.
(4) 
The heavy vehicles limitations prescribed by this section shall not apply to:
(A) 
Heavy vehicles traveling or operated upon any street designated as a United States or state highway;
(B) 
Heavy vehicles making delivery of goods and services to locations within the city;
(C) 
Fire trucks or other emergency vehicles or vehicles on emergency business involved in the saving of life or property;
(D) 
Implements of husbandry incidentally moved upon a road;
(E) 
Road repair, construction or maintenance vehicles while involved in the repair, construction, or maintenance of roads, utilities, drainage ditches within the city;
(F) 
Garbage service vehicles while involved in the provision of services to residents of the city;
(G) 
Recreational vehicles or travel trailers.
(5) 
A heavy vehicle which would otherwise be restricted is permitted to make pick-ups, deliveries, or service calls in the city but shall restrict its travel through city streets to a minimum. Said vehicle shall be driven in such a manner as to proceed to its destination or destinations in the city by the most direct route. Upon completion of the pick-ups, deliveries, or service calls, the vehicle shall leave the city by the most direct route. This section shall not be interpreted as permitting a vehicle otherwise restricted from entering or leaving the city.
(b) 
Penalty.
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation to operate a vehicle in violation of this section. Any person, firm or corporation violating any provision of this section or failing to observe any provision hereof shall upon conviction be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be fined a sum not more than five hundred dollars ($500.00), and each and every day or fraction of a day in which this section or any part thereof shall be violated shall be deemed a separate offense and punished as such.
(c) 
Signage.
The city manager is hereby authorized to procure and have erected appropriate traffic-control signs as required by the laws of the state, providing notice of the restrictions imposed by this section.
(Ordinance 67 adopted 1/8/2019)
Nothing in this article shall be construed to deny the operation of any vehicle or combination of vehicles that could be lawfully operated upon the highways and roads within the corporate limits of the city.
(Ordinance 67, sec. I(A)(1)(d), adopted 11/-/1992)
(a) 
Any police officer having reason to believe that the gross weight of a loaded motor vehicle is unlawful is authorized to weigh the same by means of portable or stationary scales approved by the police department of the city for such use, or the police officer may cause the loaded motor vehicle to be weighed by any public weigher and may require such vehicle to be driven to the nearest available scales for the purpose of weighing.
(b) 
In the event that the gross weight of a vehicle weighed pursuant to subsection (a) above is found to exceed the maximum gross weight authorized by law, plus a tolerance allowance of five percent (5%) of the gross weight authorized by law, such police officer shall demand and require the operator or owner of the motor vehicle to unload, or cause to be unloaded, such portion of the load as is necessary to decrease the gross weight of such vehicle to the maximum permitted by law plus such tolerance allowance. Such vehicle may not be operated further over the public streets and highways within the city until the gross weight of the vehicle has been reduced to a weight not in excess of the maximum authorized by law plus such tolerance allowance except as authorized under subsection (c) or (d) below.
(c) 
If the load of a motor vehicle consists of livestock, the operator shall be permitted to proceed to the destination without unloading, providing the destination is within the State of Texas.
(d) 
If the gross weight of a motor vehicle exceeds the maximum permitted by law plus a tolerance allowance of five percent (5%) of the gross weight authorized by law, but the police officer believes that the cargo cannot be unloaded safely at the place where such vehicle was weighed, or the police officer believes that the unloading of the cargo in such place would create an unreasonable disruption of traffic, he shall require the operator to proceed to a location where the cargo can be unloaded safety without causing disruption to traffic. Such location shall be the nearest such place on city property, on property under the control of the driver or his principal, or on property where consent has been given for such unloading and where it is feasible to unload such cargo.
(Ordinance 67, sec. I(A)(1)(f), adopted 11/-/1992)
No special permit may be issued except upon receipt of payment of an issuance fee in the amount set forth in the fee schedule in appendix A of this code, which shall be to defray a portion of the bookkeeping costs. The special permit shall identify all persons or entities authorized to operate an overweight vehicle on city-owned streets, bridges, or culverts and all vehicles so authorized. The special permit shall further identify the streets, bridges, or culverts over which the authorized vehicles are permitted to travel and shall contain the effective and ending dates for which the special permit is issued.
(Ordinance 67, sec. I(A)(4), adopted 11/-/1992; Ordinance adopting Code)
Any person moving or causing to be moved a vehicle and/or a load which, together with the weight of the vehicle, exceeds the limit as set out herein shall be liable to the city for any damage done by any such overweight vehicle to the streets, bridges, or culverts in the city. Any person making application for a special permit as provided above shall, as a part of the application, post a cash or surety bond, in an amount to be set by the footage of the street to be used, at a rate of $2.00 per foot, but in no event shall be less than $2,500.00, which bond shall be payable to the city and shall be conditioned upon the applicant causing no damages during the term of the permit. Factors to be considered in determining the amount of the bond shall include, but not be limited to, the then-current condition of the streets, bridges and culverts over which the vehicle will travel, the size, weight, and number of vehicles to be covered by the permit, the anticipated number of trips to be made during the term of the permit, and the anticipated weather conditions during the term of the permit. Upon expiration of the term of the special permit, the applicant shall surrender the special permit to the city. Prior to any portion of the bond being returned to the applicant, the police chief or utility superintendent shall inspect the streets, bridge, and culverts identified in the special permit for damage and if any damage is found a determination as to the cause and extent of damage shall be made. Any part of the bond which is not used to pay for any damages made by the covered vehicle(s) shall be returned to the applicant after the surrender of the special permit.
(Ordinance 67, sec. I(A)(5), adopted 11/-/1992)
The driver, owner, operator, or other person operating or driving any commercial motor vehicle, truck, tractor, trailer, or semi-trailer or combination of such vehicles over, on, or upon city streets or public highways within the limits of the city shall comply with the provisions of article 6701d11, section 6(a) of the Revised Civil Statutes of the state.
(Ordinance 67, sec. I(A)(6), adopted 11/-/1992)
(a) 
Applicability.
No motor vehicle, commercial motor vehicle, truck-tractor, trailer, or semitrailer shall exceed a length of forty (40) feet, except it shall be lawful for refrigeration equipment installed in a trailer or semi-trailer for purpose of refrigerating the cargo thereof to overhang the front of such vehicle, even though such overhang would make the total length of such vehicle more than forty (40) feet. When any such truck-tractor and semi-trailer coupled together shall exceed a total length of fifty-five (55) feet, and when operated in any other combination of such vehicles coupled together, including but not limited to a truck and semi-trailer and trailer, truck-tractor and two (2) trailers, then no such other combination of such vehicles coupled together shall exceed a length of sixty-five (65) feet. The limit of forty (40) feet on a semi-trailer shall not apply to such semi-trailer combination, if such combination does not exceed fifty (50) feet in total length, and unless, in the case of any combination of such vehicles, same be operated by municipal corporations in adjoining suburbs wherein such municipal corporation has heretofore been using such or like equipment in connection with an established service to such suburbs of the city. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to any disabled vehicle being towed by another vehicle to the nearest intake place for repairs.
(b) 
Mobile homes.
The above limitations shall not apply to any mobile home or to any combination of a mobile home and a motor vehicle, but no mobile home or motor vehicle combination shall exceed a total length of fifty-five (55) feet. "Mobile home" as used herein means living quarters equipped and used for sleeping and eating and which may be moved from one location to another over a public highway by being pulled behind a motor vehicle.
(c) 
Permit to operate string of vehicles.
Upon application therefor, the city council may, in its discretion, issue a permit authorizing any such applicant to operate in the outskirts of the city a string of vehicles of greater length than herein limited, but in no event longer than eighty-five (85) feet overall, and such permit shall be limited to a specific job or definite period of time to be therein indicated, the time being twenty-four (24) hours.
(Ordinance 67, sec. II(C), adopted 11/-/1992)