By Alabama Public Radio
Birmingham, AL – Mobile home manufacturers are seeking permission to haul 20-foot-wide structures on 12-foot travel lanes. The current legal maximum width is 16 feet. The request comes as more Federal Emergency Management Agency trailers are being moved through the state to hurricane-damaged areas of the Gulf Coast. Manufacturers have asked the Alabama DOT, which issues oversized permits for highway travel, to allow the 20-foot-wide loads. Citing road safety concerns, DOT's assistant director of maintenance, Randy Braden says the department is not going to allow it. Braden says Alabama has the authority to prohibit the loads on federal and state highways within state boundaries, and will not approve the bigger loads.