Colorado Oversize Permits requirements
Colorado Oversize Permits have the following requirements
Validity: Colorado Oversize Permits are valid for Five Days
Operating Time: Movement is generally allowed from sunrise to sunset. However, if the load is up to 12 feet wide, night travel may be permitted only when proper lighting, flags, and warning devices are used in accordance with safety guidelines. For loads wider than 12 feet and up to 14 feet, night travel is still allowed, but an escort vehicle is mandatory for added safety during nighttime operations.
Colorado Oversize Permits requirements
Colorado Oversize Permits have the following requirements
Validity: Georgia Oversize Permits are valid for Five Days.
Operating Time: Movement is generally allowed from sunrise to sunset. However, if the load is up to 12 feet wide, night travel may be permitted only when proper lighting, flags, and warning devices are used in accordance with safety guidelines. For loads wider than 12 feet and up to 14 feet, night travel is still allowed, but an escort vehicle is mandatory for added safety during nighttime operations.
Restricted Travel: Specific curfew hours are listed in the supplemental documents that accompany each oversize permit. On Interstate 70, the Eisenhower Tunnel enforces a maximum height limit of 13 feet 11 inches. If a load exceeds this height, it must bypass the tunnel by using U.S. Route 6. For loads wider than 11 feet, drivers are required to stop and contact the appropriate authority for clearance before attempting to pass through the tunnel. In most cases, wider loads are still allowed access once cleared.
If transporting to or from Denver, a city street permit is necessary for travel on local roads. However, obtaining this permit may take 2 to 3 days on average, as processing times in Denver are typically slow.
Types of Oversize Permits
- Oversize Permits
- Overweight Permits
- Overhang Permits
- Single Trip Permits
- Super load Permits
- Annual Permits
Colorado Legal Dimensions
Length: A 57 feet 4 inches trailer and legal load is authorized on interstate and specified roads.
Overhang: 4 feet front, 10 feet rear (see the section of Sings, Lights and flags Requirements)
Width: 8 feet 6 inches
Height: 13 feet on non designated routes and 14 feet 6 inches on designated highways
Weight: 80,000lbs gross weight on Interstate
85,000lbs gross weight on Non-Interstate
Steering Axles: 20,000lbs
Single Axles: 20,000lbs
Tandem Axles: 36,000lbs
Tridem Axles: 54,000lb
Maximum Load Dimensions with permits in Colorado
Length: 130 feet on four lane routes
Width: 17 feet
Height: 16 feet. If Load is More tha 14 feet 6 inches, it required a route survey
Weight:
Single Axles: 22,000lbs to 27,000lbs
Tandem Axles: 42,000lbs to 50,000lbs
Tridem Axles: 55,000lbs to 65,000lbs
Quad Axles: 60,000lbs to72,000lbs
The maximum permitted weight varies according to the route classification and axle spacing.
Superload: Any load wider than 17 feet or exceeding 200,000 pounds GVW is treated as a superload, and securing approval typically takes 6 to 10 days.
Escort or Pilot Car Requirements in Colorado
Length:
- More than 85 ft (on certain stretches of two or four lane highways) required 1 escort
- More than 110 ft on two lane roads or more than 115 ft on roads with four or more lanes required 1 escort
- Rear overhang beyond 25 ft required 1 escort
Width
- Interstates: wider than 13 ft required either 1 rear escort or a rear mounted flashing yellow light
- For most primary corridors (“Green Routes”). Tighter secondary routes can trigger stricter rules.
Two lane highways
Wider than 13 feet, choose between 1 escort or a rear flashing yellow light
Wider than 15 ft require either 2 escorts or 1 front escort plus a rear flashing yellow light
Four lane highways
Wider than 13 ft require 1 rear escort or a rear flashing yellow light
Wider than 15 ft require 2 escorts or 1 front escort plus a rear flashing yellow light
Height
- Over 16 feet require 1 escort equipped with a high pole
- Over 17 feet 6 inches add a route survey and utility clearance letters
Note: All pilot car vehicles operating in Colorado must be at least 60 inches in width.
Sings, Lights and flags Requirements and Additional Information in Colorado
Sings, Lights and flags Requirements:
- “Oversize Load” placards are mandatory front and rear on all oversize moves. They are not required and should not be displayed for overweight only moves.
- Flags: For over width or over length loads, place red or fluorescent orange flags on all four corners of the outermost extremities, plus at the end of any projection exceeding 4 ft.
- Night Operations:
Wide loads after dark: Mount one flashing amber beacon on the lead vehicle and two or three beacons at the extreme rear.
Over length or rear overhang (more than 10 ft): A flashing amber beacon is required on the lead vehicle, with one to three clustered lights on the projecting end—red for rear projections, amber for front projections.
Legal limit overhang at night (greater than 4 ft up to 10 ft): Affix a red light or lantern, plainly visible for at least 500 ft, at the tip of the projection.
Miscellaneous Rules:
- Dozer blades: You may detach the blade and haul it on the same trailer as the dozer, provided the combined load blade on or off still exceeds legal limits.
- Colorado chain law (I 70, milepost 133 to 259): From September 1 through May 31, every truck tractor pulling commercial cargo must carry enough tire chains to meet the state’s chain requirements. Non compliance can result in fines.
- Divisible overweight program: Permits are now offered for tractors pulling tandem, tridem, or quad axle trailers when transporting divisible overweight loads.
Order Your Oversize Permits Today!
Need an oversize permit? Call Unique Trucking Permits now at 972-220-9831. Our service fee is just $25! Our team is ready to assist you with a quick and easy process. Don’t wait—get your permits hassle-free with Unique Trucking Permits!
Simple Steps to Order Your Oversize Permits Fast!
Call the customer service number provided on the Unique Permits website.
Share the necessary details about your vehicle and load, including dimensions, weight, and route.
Complete the payment process over the phone using your preferred payment method.
Once processed, you will receive your oversize permit via email or fax.
Width: up to 8 ft 6 in (102 in)
Height: up to 14 ft 6 in (standard statutory limit)
Length:
Single vehicle: no more than 45 feet
Semitrailer in a tractor semitrailer combination: no more than 57 ft 4 in, provided king pin to rear axle rules are met
Any load that can reasonably be reduced to these dimensions may travel statewide without a special permit.
For ordering Colorado DOT oversize permits, please contact at 972-220-9831.
With a permit, oversize moves may normally travel from sunrise to sunset Monday through Saturday. Loads wider than 14 ft, taller than 16 ft, or longer than roughly 110 ft are limited to daylight only and are often barred on major holiday weekends. Metropolitan curfews apply on key stretches of I 25 and I 70 through Denver and Colorado Springs, generally banning moves between 7 to 9 a.m. and 4 to 6 p.m. Individual permits can add further limits for weather, construction zones, or special events.
- Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW): 80,000lb on Interstate and state highways
- Axle limits: 20,000lb on a single axle; 34,000lb on a tandem (federal bridge formula still applies)
Any vehicle, axle group, or bridge formula weight that exceeds these figures requires an overweight permit.
A certified escort is required once width exceeds 12 ft, height exceeds 16 ft, length exceeds 115 ft, or front/rear overhang exceeds 25 ft. Typically one pilot car is used for widths over 12 ft up to 14 ft; two escorts are required for loads wider than 14 ft or taller than 16 ft. A lead escort must carry a height pole when the load stands 15 ft 6 in or taller.
You must obtain an oversize or overweight permit for any indivisible vehicle or load that exceeds any of these legal limits:
- Width greater than 8 ft 6 in
- Height greater than 14 ft 6 in
- Overall length beyond the legal limit for the configuration (for example, a semitrailer longer than 57 feet 4 inches)
- GVW above 80,000lbs or axle/bridge limits noted above
- Specialized items such as mobile homes, cranes, drill rigs, modular buildings, wind energy components, and construction machines that exceed the limits even when stripped down
Colorado issues single trip, annual, and super load permits (generally when GVW exceeds 200,000lb or width exceeds 17 feet).
You may apply for an oversize permit on the Unique Trucking website or by calling their permit office at 972-220-9831.