State’s Newest Weigh Station Includes Upgrades, More Inspectors

State, federal and local transportation officials held a ribbon cutting ceremony for the state’s newest safety and weight enforcement facility in Superior Wednesday.

The facility will help prevent the more than 4,000 fatalities each year involving large trucks and buses, according to Mark Oesterle, Wisconsin division administrator for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

“People think sometimes all we do is weigh trucks,” Wisconsin State Patrol inspector Todd Munson said. “Actually, most of what we do is safety related – brakes, hours of service for the drivers, make sure they’re not fatigued.”

The goal of the facility is to maximize the number of operation hours to improve trucker safety and efficiency, Wisconsin Department of Transportation Secretary Mark Gottlieb said.

“We cannot do our job without Wisconsin State Patrol’s data that we receive from roadside inspections,” Oesterle said. “It’s a partnership that’s critical in saving lives in Wisconsin and nationwide.”

Inspections have increased since the facility went into operation three months ago, Munson said. The old weigh station operated with two staff, but they now have five inspectors with hopes of adding another position.

The $13.5 million state-of-the-art station replaces a facility built during the 1960s and includes indoor inspection bays, larger scales and PrePass, an identification system that allows pre-approved trucks to bypass inspection.

PrePass saves truckers time, Munson said. “The more you keep the wheels moving on these trucks, the more money they make, the more freight gets moved.”

Aaron Sybers drives trucks for Erickson Trucking out of Minong. He uses the weigh station five to eight times a day hauling wood to area mills.

“It’s more efficient. It’s a lot safer. The way the technology is now they can actually eliminate some trucks, bypassing instead of sending everyone through so you’re not a delay,” Sybers said.

The new facility is typically open Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wisconsin has 13 weigh stations and 92 inspectors, according to state transportation officials. State officials conducted more than 30,000 inspections last year and weighed roughly 4 million trucks.