New super-heavy trucks will not be allowed to operate between Dunedin and Oamaru until all the bridges are deemed strong enough to support them, information from the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) suggests.
Operators have already been told they cannot get high productivity permits to run heavier trucks between the centres because some of the bridges along State Highway 1 are not rated to take their weight.
New Zealand Road Transport Association Otago-Southland manager Dave Potter said the refusals should embarrass policy-makers, who should have come to terms with the roading network before the oversize permits were offered.
"There has been talk around this for a long while and now we see that the infrastructure is currently unable to allow it to happen," Mr Potter said, when contacted.
"A little bit more of a focus on maintenance or upgrading between then and now might have meant we would not be in this situation, and the permits would be able to be used."
A new permit system, which came into force in May, allows transport operators apply to run trucks that are up to nine tonnes heavier than the standard 44-tonne limit.
The permits apply only to routes specified by the operator and agreed to by local authorities and the NZTA.
NZTA spokesman Andy Knackstedt said the southern approvals covered Gore District Council roads and portions of State Highways 1 and 96.
The six permit applications that were declined had been because of bridge weight restrictions on State Highway 1 between Dunedin and Oamaru.
Eleven bridges were being assessed along the route, but a list of where they were or a timeline for completing the assessments was unavailable, Mr Knackstedt said.
Mr Potter said operators would be disappointed to learn applications had been refused while officials did more work to see whether part of the South Island's most important highway could handle them.
The research should have been completed well before the permits were offered in May, and there was no doubt disappointed operators would raise the issue with Transport Minister Steven Joyce at the association's conference in Queenstown next month.
In May, Mr Joyce said the permit system would help to reduce road congestion, operating costs and vehicle emissions, and improve road safety by slowing the increase in heavy vehicle movements on roads.
