Alabama Frost Laws & Spring Thaw Limits

How Alabama handles spring thaw

Alabama runs no spring thaw program. The ground here doesn't freeze deep enough to thaw-weaken the roadbed, so there's no seasonal axle or gross cut and no DOT frost order to pull. Standard limits hold all year (Ala. Code § 32-9-20): 80,000 lb gross, 20,000 lb single axle. Still read posted bridge and local-road weight-limit signs. Those caps are year-round, not seasonal, and the sign is the legal limit on that road.

Window, reduction, and where to check

• Season: No seasonal restrictions. Alabama declares no spring thaw / frost order, so the same weight limits apply in March as in July.
• Reduction: None. No seasonal percentage cut and no posted spring tonnage caps. Year-round limits stand: 80,000 lb gross, 20,000 lb single axle.
• Interstates: Exempt from the seasonal reduction
• Find the current order: No frost program exists, so there's nothing seasonal to pull from the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT). Watch posted bridge and county-road weight-limit signs, which run year-round, and confirm heavy or oversize moves with the ALDOT permit office before you load.
• Overweight penalty: No seasonal-overweight fine, because there's no seasonal limit to exceed. Plain overweight is a misdemeanor with penalties set at the county level, commonly a few hundred dollars per violation (Ala. Code Title 32, Ch. 9).

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