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LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON - The Department of Transportation is building an unstaffed weigh scale on the side of the highway near the Fort Simpson Airport.

The unstaffed scale will be available for truckers to weigh their vehicles to make sure they meet territorial road weight requirements.

An unstaffed weigh scale is expected to be in place by the end of November on the highway near the Fort Simpson airport. - Andrew Livingstone/NNSL photo

The scale is run by a light system that will guide truckers one axle at a time.

Once the vehicle is weighed the driver will receive a print-out of the vehicle's weight per axle, allowing them to determine if adjustments need to be made.

Bill Hval, Department of Transportation regional superintendent for the Dehcho region, said the scale benefits both the territory and the truckers.

"It's a tool for the transportation industry so they can see the weight of their vehicles and make a determination on how to load their vehicle," he said.

"If they have to move their load back or ahead of an axle, then this will allow them to determine that. Also they can determine if they have to take weight on or off.

"They want to maximize the weight on the truck so they pay for that unit as it's going down the road."

The difference between a staffed scale like the one in Enterprise and an unstaffed scale is the certification and calibration of the scale system.

A certified system is calibrated to the most precise weight possible for the system, where an unmanned scale like the one being built might be off by 100 kg either way.

Hval said if a trucker is over the weight limit by 100kg they won't be punished for it.

"If a truck goes to the scale and finds out he is over 5,000 kg, he's not going to proceed down the road knowing he's going to have to weigh in at a manned station and get a fine," Hval said.

"It prevents them from getting a ticket for weight issues."

Territorially speaking, the scale will help preserve road infrastructure longer.

"Our roads are built to bear a certain amount of weight and if they go over that, it starts to damage our highways and we don't want that," Hval said.

"If we can educate the transportation industry to go to the scale, it'll reduce the amount of wear and tear on our roadways."

The scale will be the first of its type in the Northwest Territories and is expected to be completed by the end of November with an approximate cost of $60,000.