PSI - Issue 84

Francesco La Fortezza et al. / Procedia Structural Integrity 84 (2026) 368–375

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equipment and temporary lane narrowing. Overall, the tool developed by SINA represents a concrete example of applying the Guidelines on exceptional transports, transforming regulatory prescriptions into a structured, digital, and repeatable technical-administrative process that improves authorisation efficiency, speeds it up, and enhances safety in managing exceptional transits on existing infrastructure. 2. Reference Standards Exceptional transports in Italy concern vehicles and heavy or oversized loads that exceed the ordinary weight and dimensional limits set out in the Highway Code (Codice della Strada, Art. 10 of Legislative Decree No. 285 of 30 April 1992 [4]). Such transports require special authorizations and specific procedures to ensure safety, protection of road infrastructure, and uniform application throughout the national territory. The LG TE were adopted by Ministerial Decree No. 242 of 28 July 2022 by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Sustainable Mobility (MIMS) pursuant to Article 10 -bis of the Highway Code. These Guidelines constitute an operational instrument designed to regulate in a uniform manner the administrative procedures and technical criteria for authorizing and managing exceptional transports nationwide. The LG TE specifically cover: • Methods for verifying the compatibility of exceptional transports with road superstructures, pavements, and structures such as bridges and viaducts to ensure infrastructure integrity and traffic safety; • Procedures for issuing exceptional transport authorizations, both for convoys up to 108 tonnes using eight -axle vehicles and for indivisible loads exceeding normal weight and dimension limits; • Definition of responsible parties and their respective roles (road owners, motorway concessionaires, public administrations, etc.); • Organization of pre-transit technical checks and control measures during the movement of exceptional vehicles. • The entry into force of the Guidelines has been postponed several times compared with original expectations to allow for adequate technical and regulatory consultation with public and private stakeholders (industry associations, local authorities, concessionaires, etc.). • Initial extension to 30 March 2025 – Under the conversion law of Decree- Law No. 132/2023 (Official Gazette, 28 November 2023), the effective date of the Guidelines was moved from 31 December 2023 to 30 March 2025, and a ministerial technical working group was established to define the National Plan for Transports in Conditions of Exceptionality; • Further extension to 30 March 2026 – With the Milleproroghe Decree (Law No. 15 of 21 February 2025), the deadline was again postponed to 30 March 2026. At the same time, the completion of the technical working group and the adoption of the National Plan were extended to 31 December 2025. • The Guidelines organize the administrative process for authorizing exceptional transports . In particular: • They introduce uniform criteria for the application, review and issuance of authorizations by competent authorities (ANAS, local authorities, concessionaires); applications must include detailed technical data on the vehicle and the load and specify routes and proposed safety measures. • They establish timeframes and procedures for pre-transit checks of road network conditions and structures, requiring infrastructure owners to carry out inspections and surveys.