Structure Restrictions

• Abnormal Load Movements
• Weight Restrictions on Bridges
• Height Restrictions
• Width Restrictions

Abnormal Load Movements

Abnormal loads are vehicles in excess of 44 tonnes, 16’ 3” (4.87 metres) in height, 9’ 6” (2.9 metres) in width and/or 60’ (18.3 metres) in length.

Under the provisions of the Motor Vehicles (Authorisation of Special Types) General Order 2003, hauliers are required by law to notify highway authorities if their vehicles are in excess of 44 tonnes.  Vehicles that exceed the permitted sizes in terms of length, height and width only need to be notified to the Police.

The Authority receives notification of abnormal movements from hauliers and advises them if the route has any problems such as weight, height and width restrictions.  Where problems exist the authority can advise of an alternative route if one exists.  In general the abnormal load movements are confined to the Trunk Road network where possible.

Weight Restrictions on Bridges

A national programme of bridge assessments has been in progress since 1987 and has identified a large number of substandard bridges in Powys.  As a result it has been necessary to impose weight restrictions in order to protect the travelling public and safe guard the integrity of the bridge.  The movement of HGV’s around the county has therefore become increasingly difficult with lengthy diversions required in many instances. 

The Authority has in place a programme of bridge strengthening, however, the pressures on the Council’s finances have and will continue to delay the completion of this programme and hence the restrictions are likely to remain in place for the foreseeable future.

Height Restrictions

The Traffic Signs Manual Chapter 4 requires all bridges with headroom of less than 16’ 6” (approximately 5.03 metres) to have clearly visible warning signs showing the restricted headroom.

There are 28 bridges within Powys on the county network that have restricted headroom. 

To view the locations of these bridges with their headroom, see below.

	Height restrictions schedule	7.8 K
	Height restrictions map	162 K

Width Restrictions

It has been necessary for the Authority to impose a width restriction for a number of bridges to prevent damage from larger vehicles.  There are currently only two bridges within the County that have width restrictions, namely;

• Llangynidr Bridge (Grid Ref. SO152203)
• Pantygallog Bridge, nr Trecastle (Grid Ref. SN904292).