Winter Overweight Road Permits End Monday in Minnesota

Last Saturday I was out to the farm hauling corn and it was around 15 or 18 degrees below zero. I knew it was supposed to warm up toward the end of this week, maybe even 50 degrees. Well the weatherman got it right as it did warm up  but I sure was surprised when I saw an email from one of the elevators I work with about road postings going on. They had just gotten an email from the state of Minnesota that the winter overweight permits will be coming off Monday, February 22. At the same time the spring road postings will be going on. To me road posting are the first sure sign of spring.

I do not remember when the spring road postings normally go on, but this must be much earlier than normal. I do remember that they automatically go on March 15 unless announced earlier. We have not had a very cold winter so there was not a lot of frost. About three weeks ago, Tom Hoverstad at the Southern Research and Outreach Center at Waseca said the frost was only about 24 inches deep. Warm weather and a little rain will bring that out pretty fast. I understand why we need spring road restrictions as we can do a lot of damage to the roads we depend on. I will be loading the truck a lot lighter now and make a few more trips. I have never gotten a ticket for being overweight but I suspect it is not a fun experience!