14,000 pounds too much: Deputies crack down on overloaded dump trucks in Palm Bay, West Melbourne
Brevard County sheriff’s deputies, working in conjunction with the Florida Department of Transportation, carried out several spot inspections of trucks — including several that were overloaded — hauling sand for an Interstate 95 interchange construction project.
At least three Mack trucks carrying loads from a pit off of Heritage Parkway in West Melbourne were pulled over before 9:30 a.m. with sand amounting to thousands of pounds over the amount legally allowed, sheriff’s deputies reported.
One truck was about 14,000 pounds over its 70,000-pound capacity, with dirt spilling out onto the roadway. Drivers were ticketed and fined several hundred dollars. The deputies and state troopers used special scales to weigh the trucks.
"As safety is a top priority for the Florida Department of Transportation, we are communicating our concerns to the contractor and asking for a plan of action to prevent this from happening in the future," FDOT spokesman Steve Olson said.
Deputies said they had received several complaints from motorists.
"It's dangerous for them to drive with improper loads," sheriff's spokesman Tod Goodyear said. "There's stuff falling off the trucks."
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The Mack trucks would travel on Heritage and then turn on to Interstate 95 where they would go northbound to the Ellis Road interchange construction site.
The prime contractor on the project is Jr. Davis Construction Company of Kissimmee, which hired subcontractors to haul the fill, Olson said.
"The trucks were apparently making illegal U-turns," Olson said. "The contractor says it is contacting its subcontractors to make sure this doesn’t happen again and to remind them to obey traffic rules. The contractor says it is also contacting the supplier of the fill, to make sure trucks are not overweight when leaving their site."
The Florida Highway Patrol, West Melbourne police and Palm Bay police also participated in the crackdown.
Stancil is a breaking news reporter for FLORIDA TODAY and TCPalm.
Contact Stancil at 321-242-3662 or 321-987-7179
or lamaur.stancil@tcpalm.com.
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