(1) (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article to the contrary, the department of transportation, in the exercise of its discretion, may issue permits for the use of longer vehicle combinations. An annual permit for such use may be issued to each qualified carrier company. The carrier company shall maintain a copy of such annual permit in each vehicle operating as a longer vehicle combination; except that, if a peace officer, as described in section 16-2.5-101, C.R.S., or an authorized agent of the department of transportation may determine that the permit can be electronically verified at the time of contact, a copy of the permit need not be in each vehicle. The fee for the permit shall be two hundred fifty dollars per year. (b) Notwithstanding the amount specified for the fee in paragraph (a) of this subsection (1), the executive director of the department by rule or as otherwise provided by law may reduce the amount of the fee if necessary pursuant to section 24-75-402 (3), C.R.S., to reduce the uncommitted reserves of the fund to which all or any portion of the fee is credited. After the uncommitted reserves of the fund are sufficiently reduced, the executive director of the department by rule or as otherwise provided by law may increase the amount of the fee as provided in section 24-75-402 (4), C.R.S. (c) The department shall provide the option to a company filing for a permit under this section to file an express consent waiver that enables the company to designate a company representative to be a party of interest for a violation of this section. The appearance of the company representative in a court hearing without the operator when the operator has signed such waiver shall not be deemed the practice of law in violation of article 93 of title 13. (2) The permits shall allow operation, over designated highways, of the following vehicle combinations of not more than three cargo units and neither fewer than six axles nor more than nine axles: (a) An unladen truck tractor, a semitrailer, and two trailers. A semitrailer used with a converter dolly shall be considered a trailer. Semitrailers and trailers shall be of approximately equal lengths not to exceed twenty-eight feet six inches in length. (b) An unladen truck tractor, a semitrailer, and a single trailer. A semitrailer used with a converter dolly shall be considered a trailer. Semitrailers and trailers shall be of approximately equal lengths not to exceed forty-eight feet in length. Notwithstanding any other restriction set forth in this section, such combination may have up to eleven axles when used to transport empty trailers. (c) An unladen truck tractor, a semitrailer, and a single trailer, one trailer of which is not more than forty-eight feet long, the other trailer of which is not more than twenty-eight feet six inches long. A semitrailer used with a converter dolly shall be considered a trailer. The shorter trailer shall be operated as the rear trailer. (d) A truck and single trailer, having an overall length of not more than eighty-five feet, the truck of which is not more than thirty-five feet long and the trailer of which is not more than forty feet long. For the purposes of this paragraph (d), a semitrailer used with a converter dolly shall be considered a trailer. (3) (a) The long combinations are limited to interstate highway 25, interstate highway 76, interstate highway 70 west of its intersection with state highway 13 in Garfield county, interstate highway 70 east of its intersection with U.S. 40 and state highway 26, the circumferential highways designated I-225 and I-270, and state highway 133 in Delta county from mile marker 8.9 to mile marker 9.7. The department of transportation shall promulgate rules to provide carriers with reasonable ingress to and egress from such designated highway segments. (b) Upon action by the congress of the United States to lift the freeze imposed by the federal "Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991", Pub.L. 102-240, as amended, concerning the use of longer vehicle combinations, either by the total freeze being lifted by congress or by the approval of pilot projects to expand the use of longer vehicle combinations by the states, the department of transportation shall undertake a process to evaluate both interstate and state highways for possible authorization by the department of additional highway segments for inclusion by the general assembly in paragraph (a) of this subsection (3). During the review process, the department shall solicit input from all relevant stakeholders and shall work within existing statutory and regulatory guidelines. The department shall commence the review process within ninety days after action by congress that would allow expansion of the longer vehicle combination route network in Colorado. (4) The department of transportation shall promulgate rules and regulations governing the issuance of the permits, including, but not limited to, selection of carriers, driver qualifications, equipment selection, hours of operation, and safety considerations; except that they shall not include hazardous materials subject to regulation by the provisions of article 20 of this title. (5) Any person who violates any provision of this section commits a class B traffic infraction.
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