Calling it a “major step forward,” Oklahoma Corporation Commissioner Patrice Douglas is praising the scheduled opening of Oklahoma’s first Port of Entry (POE) truck weigh and inspection station. Douglas said it is good news for the taxpayer, the trucking industry, and the driving public.
“This state-of-the-art facility on I-35 in Kay County near the Kansas border, and the POE’s that will be built around the state’s border are essential to the Commission’s effort to more efficiently regulate the trucking industry and ensure cargo is safely and legally being transported in Oklahoma," Douglas said.
“Our current weigh stations are drastically outdated, unable to handle the huge number of trucks that use Oklahoma’s roads, and many are poorly located. The new POE’s will help protect the state’s huge investment in roads and improve highway safety,” Douglas added noting the program is great news for local municipalities as well.
“As a former mayor, I know how difficult and expensive it is for a city to maintain its streets. This will not only mean fewer overweight trucks damaging our state’s highways, but local streets as well,” said Douglas.
The program is a joint project involving the Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC), the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT), the Department of Public Safety (DPS) and the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority.
The OCC is providing construction funding of the POE’s and staffing of the weigh and documents check functions, ODOT is responsible for building and maintaining the POE’s, and DPS will staff the inspection facilities at the POE. The Turnpike Authority will fund a POE on the Will Rogers turnpike in Ottawa County.
An open house is scheduled for Friday, April 27 at the Kay County POE on I-35 near the Kansas border.
The next facility nearing completion is on I-40 in Beckham County, near the Texas border. In all, the project calls for 8 POE’s, and one remote site featuring weigh-in-motion.