Sometimes a truck carrying an enormous swimming pool will sit, idling on the Beltway near the River Road exit. These trucks bearing the sign "WIDE LOAD" are waiting for a police escort, because they are just so big. "If it’s a wide load, it might need an escort," said Sgt. Thornnie Rouse of the Maryland State Police.
Trucks with odd, huge cargo sometimes sit on the shoulder of the Beltway, attracting attention and sometimes even slowing traffic.
The trucker will contact the State Police and set up the necessary permits and a time to meet. The officer assigned to escort duty will travel with the truck until it reaches either its destination or the state line, Rouse said.
Sometimes wide loads simply need another vehicle driving before them with signs and flashing lights, said Chuck Gischlar, spokesperson for the State Highway Administration.
But sometimes, these unusually large loads need a police escort. Cargo that is over 8 feet 6 inches wide or 13 feet 6 inches tall, or weighs more than 80,000 pounds, needs a permit, Gischlar said.
If a load is more than 13 feet wide, it requires an escort. If it is more than 16 feet wide, it requires a police escort. A typical traffic lane is at least 11 feet wide.
So the trucks parked near the River Road exit on the inner loop are likely waiting for their escort to arrive, since that is the first, most convenient place to stop after crossing the American Legion Bridge into the state.
As a result of the size requirements, only the most unusual objects tend to be loaded up and waiting, Gischlar said. "That’s why you see things like a swimming pool or a turbine," he said.
The reason the trucks are parked there so often during rush hours, Gischlar explained, is that the behemoth trucks are discouraged from traveling on the Beltway during the rush hours.