Weight limits could be on the way for Oneida, Vilas county roads

As the warm, mild winter of 2023-24 continues, local highway departments are looking at load limits.

Oneida County highway commissioner Alex Hegeman and Vilas County highway commissioner Troy Schalinske are both dealing with lost revenue from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (DOT) for winter maintenance of U.S. Highway 51 and State Highway 70. 

They’re also monitoring frost conditions. 

In Vilas County, there are five frost tubes placed in different locations that are monitored, Schalinske explained. As of Jan. 30, there was anywhere from 30 to 40 inches of frost in them, he said.

“No sign of any top thaw,” he said. “At this time, we are not looking at putting road limits on but with the upcoming forecast with warm temperatures and rain, we will be monitoring closely and we will post if need be.”

Hegeman told The Lakeland Times Tuesday he’s not looking to put load limits into effect in Oneida County “for at least the next week” but, like Schalinske, he said the situation is being closely monitored. 

 Oneida County has four frost tubes, one at each corner of the county, he noted.

“We’re trying to get an idea, not just in Rhinelander and not just in Minocqua, as to what’s going on in the entire county,” he said.

“Twenty-three inches of frost was the lowest we had and 47 inches was the highest,” Hegeman said. “There’s no thawing going on, no top thaw yet. We’ll probably check them every Monday and Thursday from this point forward just to try and stay on top of things.” 

As of Jan. 30, other northern Wisconsin counties that have implemented load limits include Ashland, Bayfield, Douglas, Sawyer, Washburn, Price and Iron counties, he said.

“Could you ever imagine, it’s the end of January and most counties in the northern part of the state have road limits on?” Hegeman said. “We went from record-breaking snow last year, almost 140 inches. I don’t know that we got 14 inches total this year.”

“We’re pretty much in the same boat,” Minocqua public works director Mark Pertile told the Times Tuesday afternoon. “I was out and did a little road inspection yesterday (Monday) and honestly, there was a lot of ice on some of our roads. When I say ice, I don’t mean the wheel lanes but on the edges yet.”

“We may have to do something on certain roadways,” he said, echoing Hegeman and Schalinske’s remarks.

Pertile said he did a little research and since 2005, the earliest the town implemented road limits was Feb. 22. That was in 2017. 

Another aspect to the warmer weather, he said, is it’s allowing for more construction excavation.

“The weather’s good, there’s a lot more excavation going on this time of year than we normally would see,” Pertile said. “If you’ve got a lot of hauling going on, you’ll end up getting more damage to your roads. Obviously, if it comes to the point where we have to put road limits on, we will.”

Brian Jopek may be reached via email at [email protected].