MSP outlines MDOT-funded weigh‑station upgrades, enforcement data; trucking group defends multi‑axle rigs

The Michigan House Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Local Transportation on Thursday heard detailed testimony from Michigan State Police and trucking‑industry representatives on truck weight enforcement, funding for weigh‑station operations and the use of wireless weigh‑in‑motion technology.

Inspector Patrick Morris of the Michigan State Police Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division told committee members that Michigan Department of Transportation funds flow to the state police under an MOU that provides “approximately $12,800,000 for size and weight enforcement in support of those activities.” Morris said those funds support way‑station operations, mobile patrols, overtime and facility maintenance and improvements.

Morris also described upgrades completed since 2020 and the division’s use of technology to expand screening. “We utilize 43 of those sites now statewide web based from our patrol unit to screen commercial vehicles,” he said, referring to MDOT traffic sensors reconfigured for weight and length screening. He said the state has 15 way stations, most of which have been renovated, and that the division is proposing a new northbound way station on I‑75 near Birch Run.

Why it matters: MDOT funding and the MOU with the State Police provide the primary revenue…