Unseasonably warm weather has prompted the Flathead County commissioners to set spring load limits on county roads more than two weeks ahead of normal.

The temporary limits take effect Feb. 24 and are intended to prevent damage to county roadways during the spring thaw by reducing the amount of weight they have to support.

The load limits won’t affect 10 days of heavy hauling for the U.S. 93 bypass construction planned Feb. 29 through March 11, according to Montana Department of Transportation Kalispell Construction Manager Jim Mitchell.

Trucks will travel down a half-mile section of Stillwater Road between the LHC site and the roundabout at Old Reserve Drive, but that portion of Stillwater Road is under the city of Kalispell’s jurisdiction, Flathead County Public Works Director Dave Prunty said. Kalispell has not yet posted load limits for its city streets.

The county owns roughly 300 feet of the half mile of Stillwater Road that will be heavily impacted by the 10-day hauling blitz, but the county won’t post a load limit on that short stretch, Prunty said.

Other portions of Stillwater Road have been used for transporting material during the bypass construction. However, Mitchell said those stretches of the road won’t be used until conditions improve this spring.

Stillwater Road “toggles back and forth” between city and county jurisdiction, Prunty added.

Once the county load limits take effect, trucks will be limited to either 350 or 400 pounds per inch of tire width, depending on the number of axles per truck. That translates to truck weights ranging from 14,000 to 32,000 pounds.

In addition to weight limits, speed limits on most county roads also are reduced to 35 mph during the thaw.

“Mother Nature is in control,” Prunty said. “Spring came about as quick as it can come this year.”

The load limits impact logging and other industries such as well drilling that rely on heavy truck equipment. This year the restrictions also could impact farmers.

Several local farmers are worried about getting their loads of anhydrous ammonia fertilizer delivered on time, especially in the West Valley area where the weight limit on Church Drive has been changed from 400 pounds per inch of tire width to 350 pounds.

A portion of the east end of Church Drive was overlaid with asphalt two years ago, and the weight limit was changed last year from 400 to 350 pounds per inch of tire width.

Commissioner Gary Krueger, one of the West Valley farmers needing timely delivery of fertilizer, told fellow commissioners on Tuesday the weight limit as proposed for Church Drive would create a hardship for farmers in that area.

Krueger attempted to pass an amendment that would have allowed hauling on a 2-mile stretch of Church Drive from U.S. 93 to the affected farms, but his motion died for lack of a second.

Commissioner Pam Holmquist said she’s sympathetic to the economic hardship the temporary load limits cause, but stressed that “if we make exceptions for one, then we have to make exceptions for another ... We can’t be picking and choosing who we set load limits for.

“If something was a problem last year, I’m surprised they [local farmers] didn’t contact us,” Holmquist said. “I don’t want to hurt the economy of the valley, but we need to protect roads.”

Bruce Tutvedt, one of the West Valley farmers affected by the load limit on Church Drive, said getting the anhydrous ammonia delivered is time-sensitive, and hauling the product in smaller loads is not an option.

“We’ve been hauling in since 1984, with no effect on the road,” Tutvedt said. “This will be a great hardship on agriculture.”

Prunty said he is planning to propose an amendment to the load limit resolution next week to allow anhydrous ammonia hauling on the west end of Church Drive so loads could be brought in from Farm-to-Market Road. He said his key county road manager believes the west end of Church Drive has a better road base than the east end.

The county has a process for approving variances to the weight limits, but it comes with a $500-per-haul fee.

Most county roads will be posted at the 350-pound per inch of tire width limit. Roads that allow the higher 400-pound limit include Cemetery Road, Lake Blaine Road, McCaffery Road west of the Sullivan Pit, Rocky Cliff Drive, Sunset Drive and Whitefish Stage Road from the Kalispell city limits to West Reserve Drive.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.