Govt enforcing 15-tonne axle limit on trucks to protect roads, bridges – Edghill

The Government has approved new rules for trucks on roads and bridges nationwide, with those over the 15-tonne per axle limit being banned, according to Minister of Public Works Bishop Juan Edghill at a media briefing on Monday.
“The regulations have been approved at cabinet, and I am in the course of putting it into order. 15 tonnes per axle, and that is the weight we are allowing on bridges and roads across the country,” Minister Edghill was quoted as saying in a Department Of Public Information (DPI) report.

He explained that his Ministry will be installing weigh-in-motion scales on roads and bridges to prevent violations.
Additionally, the Ministry is in the process of procuring 1000 truck clamps that will be issued to the Guyana Police Force (GPF).
“When you are caught overweight. It’s not just a ticket. We are clamping you, and you’re going to stay there until you discharge your weight,” the Minister warned.
The Minister warned that letting overweight trucks keep driving would seriously damage the roads, and fines wouldn’t be enough to cover the repairs. He pointed out that the cost of the damage is much greater than the fines.
He added that the Cabinet’s approval gives the Ministry the authority to fully implement these measures as part of its broader effort to protect Guyana’s road network and improve transportation safety.
In April of this year, Edghill made it clear that heavy-laden trucks are not permitted to traverse along the railway embankment on the East Coast of Demerara to alleviate damage to the thoroughfare.
He had made his remarks while inspecting the recently rehabilitated Strathspey Bridge. The bridge collapsed after an overladen truck drove over the deteriorated section.
Within the last several months, the Minister had revealed that over six Acrow-panel bridges underwent significant rehabilitation works, which were destroyed by overladen trucks.
“No trucks should continue to pass the Acrow-panel bridges along this embankment. If not, we are going to end up having another failure. This is a new trend where trucks are going through community streets or wherever they think they could drive fast, and that is causing damage,” Minister Edghill had said.