Motor vehicle rules on a repaving jobsite

July 3, 2007

Mr. Patrick Ryan

Ryan Safety Services, LLC

[Recipient address omitted]

Re: Motor vehicle requirements for a re-paving project

Dear Mr. Ryan:

This is in response to your letter dated October 18, 2006, to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). You ask about the application of a construction motor vehicles standard, 29 CFR §1926.601, to a re-paving operation. We apologize for the delay in responding.

We have paraphrased your questions as follows:

Question (1): In a letter to Mr. Riley H. Mayhall dated October 1, 1991, OSHA stated that "...all end dump trucks operating between jobsites on the public highways must comply with all the provisions of 29 CFR 1926.601 when the trucks enter off-highway jobsites." What is meant by the term "off-highway"?

Answer (1): Title 29 CFR Section 1926.601(a) provides:

Coverage. Motor vehicles as covered by this part are those vehicles that operate within an off-highway jobsite, not open to public traffic. The requirements of this section do not apply to equipment for which rules are prescribed in 1926.602.

Pursuant to 1926.601(a), any part of the highway that is not open to public traffic would be considered "off-highway."

Question (2): Scenario: A highway is being re-paved. In this operation, portions of the highway are closed to public traffic; construction work is being conducted within those areas. Separating the two work areas is a part of the highway that is open to public traffic. Under 29 CFR 1926.601(a), are the portions that are closed to public traffic considered off-highway? Is the portion that is open to public traffic considered "off-highway"?

Answer (2): In the scenario you describe, the portion of the jobsite that is open to public traffic, by the terms of 1926.601(a), is not within the meaning of "off-highway." However, the areas that are closed to public traffic would be considered "off-highway," since they meet the standard's terms of coverage. Therefore, motor vehicles in the closed areas would be required to comply with 1926.601(a).

If you need additional information, please contact us by fax at: U.S. Department of Labor, OSHA, Directorate of Construction, Office of Construction Standards and Guidance, fax # 202-693-1689. You can also contact us by mail at the above office, Room N3468, 200 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20210, although there will be a delay in our receiving correspondence by mail.

Sincerely,

Steven F. Witt, Director

Directorate of Construction