Oklahoma seeks more funds for truck weigh stations

Ridley has been seeking additional money from lawmakers the past couple years to pay for all the stations.

“There will be three left,” he said. “We figured it up that we were about $30 million short.”

The weigh stations have been a cooperative effort by three agencies. The Public Safety Department has troopers assigned to the stations to conduct inspections as well as to chase down noncompliant truckers.

Ridley said the Transportation Department is providing about $4 million to the project; it is responsible for building and maintaining the centers.

The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority is providing about $11 million to build a weigh station on the Will Rogers Turnpike near the Missouri border, Ridley said.

The Public Safety Department has troopers assigned to the stations to conduct inspections as well as to the border.

The Kay County station replaces an older weigh station. When fully operational, it will feature weigh-in-motion technology that checks trucks' weight, size and permit status through road sensors, allowing drivers to receive a green light before entering the facility, Ridley said. The system is already in use in other states.

Other inspection stations will be along I-40 in Sequoyah County near the Arkansas border and I-35 in Love County, U.S. 69/75 in Bryan County and U.S. 271 in Choctaw County, all of which will be near the Texas border. A fully automated center will be built off U.S. 412 in Delaware County near the Arkansas border. All are within three miles of the state lines.

“These are where we have determined are the greatest need,” Ridley said. “These are high-volume areas. ... We're talking about a lot of trucks coming into the state.”