(1)(a) Except as provided in (b) of this subsection, the department of transportation, with respect to state highways maintained within port district property, may, at the request of a port commission, make and enter into agreements with port districts and adjacent jurisdictions or agencies of the districts, for the purpose of identifying, managing, and maintaining short heavy haul industrial corridors within port district property for the movement of overweight sealed containers used in international trade.

     (b) The department of transportation shall designate that portion of state route number 97 from the Canadian border to milepost 331.22 as a heavy haul industrial corridor for the movement of overweight vehicles to and from the Oroville railhead. The department may issue special permits to vehicles operating in the heavy haul industrial corridor to carry weight in excess of weight limits established in RCW 46.44.041, but not to exceed a gross vehicle weight of 137,788 pounds.

     (2) Except as provided in subsection (1)(b) of this section, the department may issue special permits to vehicles operating in a heavy haul industrial corridor to carry weight in excess of weight limits established in RCW 46.44.041. However, the excess weight on a single axle, tandem axle, or any axle group must not exceed that allowed by RCW 46.44.091 (1) and (2), weight per tire must not exceed six hundred pounds per inch width of tire, and gross vehicle weight must not exceed one hundred five thousand five hundred pounds.

     (3) The entity operating or hiring vehicles under subsection (1)(b) of this section or moving overweight sealed containers used in international trade must pay a fee for each special permit of one hundred dollars per month or one thousand dollars annually, beginning from the date of issue, for all movements under the special permit made on state highways within a heavy haul industrial corridor. Within a port district property, under no circumstances are the for hire carriers or rail customers responsible for the purchase or cost of the permits. All funds collected, except the amount retained by authorized agents of the department under RCW 46.44.096, must be forwarded to the state treasurer and deposited in the motor vehicle fund.

     (4) For purposes of this section, an overweight sealed container used in international trade, including its contents, is considered nondivisible when transported within a heavy haul industrial corridor defined by the department.

     (5) Any agreement entered into by the department as authorized under this section with a port district adjacent to Puget Sound and located within a county that has a population of more than seven hundred thousand, but less than one million, must limit the applicability of any established heavy haul corridor to that portion of state route no. 509 beginning at milepost 0.25 in the vicinity of East 'D' Street and ending at milepost 3.88 in the vicinity of Taylor Way.

     (6) The department of transportation may adopt reasonable rules to implement this section.

[2008 c 89 § 1; 2005 c 311 § 1.]