Moore, 091074 MSAGO, 1974-0004

• Case Date: September 10, 1974
• Court: Mississippi

Mr. Frank T. Moore No. 1974-0004 Mississippi Attorney General Opinions September 10, 1974          Mr. Frank T. Moore          State Aid Engineer          State Aid Road Construction          P. O. Box 1850          Jackson, Mississippi 39205          Dear Mr. Moore:          Attorney General Summer has received your letter of request and has assigned it to the undersigned for research and reply.          In your letter, a copy of which is attached, you asked the following questions concerning Senate Bill 2205, passed by the 1974 Session of the Legislature, which amends Section 63-5-29, Mississippi Code of 1972 :

“(1) Does the term 'on all highways of the State of Mississippi' contained in Paragraph (1) include State Aid roads and other County roads as well as highways on the State Maintained Highway System? “(2) Are State Aid roads and other County roads subject to the legal load limit of 57,650 pounds shown in Table I, except where a greater load limit is permitted under Paragraph (3) of this Act? “(3) Is it the meaning of Paragraph (3), Subparagraph (b) of this Act that loads originating on or destined to highways previously found by the Commission to be suitable to carry greater load limits may likewise be carried from and / or onto State Aid roads and other County roads without regard to the load carrying capacity of those roads? “(4) If the answers to the above questions are in the affirmative, what powers do County Boards of Supervisors have in establishing weight limits?”

         In response to your first question, it is my opinion that the term “on all highways of the State of Mississippi” includes every public way within the State and the load limits set out in Table I are the maximum load limit for every public way in the State of Mississippi. However, the bill specifies that these public ways are subject to the per axle weight limitations of Section 63-5-27, Mississippi Code of 1972 .          The bill further provides that certain public ways may be made an exception to the maximum load limits of Table I as provided in Sections 63-5-31 and 63-5-33, Mississippi Code of 1972 . These statutes allow the State Highway Commission to determine from an engineering standpoint that certain highways or parts of highways are suitable to carry an increased load limit and to so designate these certain highways in the manner provided in these statutes. However, Section 63-5-35, Mississippi Code of 1972, provides that load limits may only be increased...