Louisiana Truck Weight Limits

How much a truck can weigh in Louisiana

Base limit is 80,000 (La. R.S. 32:2). Sugarcane and forest-product haulers get more off the Interstate: up to 88,000 for cane and around 92,000 in timber harvest season with an annual permit. The overweight fine is a per-pound ladder against the whole excess (R.S. 32:388): 1 cent a pound in the 1,000-pound bracket, climbing a cent per bracket to 10 cents at 10,000 over, and 11 cents a pound once you top 11,000 over. An axle or bridge-formula violation is $50 each.

Axles, off-Interstate, and permits

• Off the Interstate: 80,000 lb base; 88,000 (sugarcane) and about 92,000 (timber harvest season) off the Interstate with an annual permit
• Single axle: 20,000 lb
• Tandem axle: 34,000 lb
• With a permit: Off-Interstate: timber-harvest season about 92,000 lb, forest products about 86,600 lb, and a sugarcane annual permit up to 100,000 lb gross (Interstate travel allowed). Everything else over 80,000 needs an OSOW permit.
• The per-pound rate applies to the full overweight amount, not just the pounds inside the top bracket. Sugarcane permits allow limited Interstate travel; most harvest permits are non-Interstate only. Permit weights are medium-confidence and vary by commodity and route.

Posted bridge and road limits

Louisiana posts load-limited bridges and roads on MUTCD R12 signs. WEIGHT LIMIT X TONS is short tons (2,000 lb), so 15 TONS means 30,000 lb. A posted limit overrides the legal max: a legal 80,000-lb truck cannot cross a bridge posted below its weight and must detour. Crossing a posted structure over the limit is a separate offense and can leave you liable for damage to the bridge.

What running heavy costs

Per-pound ladder applied to the entire excess under La. R.S. 32:388: 999 lb or less over $10 minimum; 1,000-1,999 over 1 cent per pound; then up one cent per 1,000-lb bracket to 10 cents per pound at 10,000-10,999 over; 11,000+ over is 11 cents per pound. An axle or bridge-formula violation is $50 each. Over licensed but within legal weight is $100. Failure to stop at scales is $100 (under 26,000 GVWR) or $500 (26,000+).

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