(a) The Division of Highways shall establish all legal vehicle weight limits for all public highways including roads within the coal resource transportation road system. Public highways shall be designated as coal resource transportation roads by the Commissioner of the Division of Highways pursuant to this article. Only state-maintained roads and public highways found in the following areas: Boone, Fayette, Lincoln, Logan, McDowell, Mercer, Mingo, Raleigh, Wayne and Wyoming counties; in Braxton county, Braxton county route 19/29 from Mine 5 haulroad to intersection of county route 36/1, county route 36/1 to intersection of county route 36 and county route 36 to the Webster County line (Webster County route 9); in Ohio County, county route 1 from the intersection of county route 7 to intersection of Riley Delaplaine Road; in Greenbrier County, routes west of Sam Black Church and southwest to the Summers County line; in Clay County, routes 4 and 16; in Nicholas County, routes 1/11, 16, 19, 19/2, 19/40, 20, 39, 41, 55 and 82; in Webster County, routes 9, 9/1, 9/2, 20, 32 and 82; and all state-maintained roads and public highways found in Washington, Malden, Louden and Cabin Creek districts, Kanawha County, are eligible to qualify as part of the coal resource transportation road system. The division shall post signs on roads informing the public of the designation and shall also list a toll-free telephone line for public reporting of poor driving or law violations by special permit operators. The division shall provide periodic reports to the commercial motor vehicle weight and safety enforcement advisory committee as established in section two, article one-a, chapter twenty-four-a of this code relating to the study of coal resource transportation roads. The periodic reports shall include the following at a minimum: (1) Citations issued for violations of this chapter; (2) disposition of the violations; (3) road conditions and maintenance; and (4) the amount of undue road damage attributable to coal resource transportation road system permit use.
(b) The Public Service Commission shall administer the coal resource transportation road permitting program and otherwise enforce the provisions of this article. The commission shall establish requirements for vehicle operators holding coal resource transportation road permits pursuant to section five of this article consistent with federal statutory and regulatory requirements.
(1) The commission may, during normal business hours, conduct inspections of all trucking-related records of shippers, vehicle operators, vehicle owners and receivers engaged in the transportation of coal. Copies of records shall be provided to commission employees upon request. This provision may not be construed to authorize the commission to reveal trade secrets or other confidential financial information of those persons inspected; however the commission may use any weight measurement records as evidence of a violation of this article.