Replacement of a weigh-in-motion system for measuring truck weight east of the Highway 43 Winona bridge will be done separately from the $162 million bridge construction and repair project to minimize the time the system will be inactive, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

The Winona bridge is part of a recently started $162 million project to build a new bridge and repair the existing bridge. It’s under weight restrictions of 80,000 pounds for trucks. By replacing the system separate from the bridge project, the system will be inactive for a shorter length of time. The system is used to enforce posted weight limits for trucks crossing the bridge.

Advertising for bids to replace the system began Aug. 1. The bids are scheduled to be opened on Aug. 22. Work to remove the old system and install the new system is expected to start the first week of October and be complete by the second week of October.

“We accelerated this project to continue our monitoring of the existing bridge, which is an important connection between Winona and Wisconsin,” said Tory Thompson, Winona Bridge assistant project manager. “This project work was separated from the actual bridge project because there was a need to replace it now and we recognized that if it was part of the Winona Bridge project there was potential for the system being down longer than the short period that we can achieve in the separate project.”

The weigh-in-motion system is a series of devices to record axle and gross vehicle weights while a vehicle drives over a measurement site in the roadway. The weighing process is more efficient for trucks because the weight is measured while the vehicle is in motion on the roadway.

With this project, MnDOT is working with its partners to preserve an efficient and effective transportation system. Information is also shared with Wisconsin Department of Transportation.