Rider 36 OS/OW Vehicle Fees Study

The Texas Legislature in Rider 36 of the 2012–2013 General Appropriations Act directed the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to conduct a study on road damage caused by oversized and overweight (OS/OW) trucks (including those currently exempt), and to provide recommendations for permit fee and fee structure adjustments to the Legislative Budget Board and the governor. The project developed methodologies to quantify pavement and bridge consumption rates per mile. In addition to the consumption rates for bridges and pavements due to the effect of axle loads, the team also identified $60 million in additional annual costs not currently addressed in permit fee calculations, such as law enforcement costs and damage to roadside appurtenances. Based on these costs and consumption rates, the researchers developed a new fee schedule that considers costs associated with oversize vehicles that exceed legal width, height, or length for 34 rate categories. These new fees were also calculated based on vehicle miles traveled (VMT). The research team also developed a model that could be used by operators to calculate their permit fees using the new fee schedule, type of vehicle, axle configurations, counties operating within, and VMT.