Oklahoma will soon start work on the first two of nine new state-of-the-art truck inspection stations to be equipped with weigh-in-motion scales, remote infra-red vehicle temperature sensors and other cutting edge vehicle inspection technology.


The first of the new facilities will go up on Interstate 40 in Beckham County, and the second will be on Interstate 35 in Kay County. When they are complete, the Oklahoma Department of Transportation will build seven other ports of entry, which ODOT officials said would be designed to stop only those trucks that are operating illegally or unsafely.

The Tulsa (Oklahoma) World reported on Tuesday that The Oklahoma Corporation Commission provided $10 million to the state Department of Transportation to complete the construction of two recently approved highway weigh stations.

ODOT, the Corporation Commission and the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority have partnered to build the weigh stations. ODOT will build and maintain the stations, and the Corporation Commission will fund most of the $61 million cost and staff the stations. An ODOT report says funding for the new stations will come from the Petroleum Storage Tank Indemnity Fund at no additional cost to taxpayers.

A Transportation Department report says all nine ports of entry should be open within six years, the paper indicated.