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How to Compare Two Heavy Haul Routes

A structured method for comparing candidate heavy haul routes: normalize the criteria, score clearances, grades, geometry, and permit complexity, and document why the winner won.

7 min readLearning CenterRoadScope TeamUpdated August 14, 2026

Key Takeaways

  • •Compare routes on the same criteria set — an ad-hoc comparison always favors the familiar route
  • •The shortest route is rarely the best route for an oversize load
  • •Document why the losing route lost; that record answers the client and the auditor later

Short answer: Compare two heavy haul routes by fixing the criteria first (hard clearance and weight constraints, grades, turning geometry, permit and escort complexity, distance and schedule risk), building the constraint inventory for both candidates at equal detail, eliminating any route with a physical blocker, then scoring the survivors side-by-side. Decide with stakeholders and write down why the losing route lost — the comparison record is part of the route’s defensibility.

Step-by-Step Procedure

1. Fix the criteria before you look — Decide what matters and how much: vertical/horizontal clearance margins, weight-posted structures, maximum sustained grade, number of critical turns, jurisdictions and permit lead times, escort requirements, distance, and time-of-day restrictions. Choosing criteria after inspecting the routes invites bias toward the familiar one.

2. Inventory both routes equally — A comparison between a well-surveyed route and a desk-reviewed one is not a comparison. Bring both candidates to the same evidence level for the segments where they differ.

3. Eliminate on hard constraints — A clearance below load-plus-margin, a posted bridge under the gross weight, an intersection the swept path cannot make: any one of these removes a candidate regardless of how well it scores elsewhere. Check the eliminators before wasting analysis on a dead route.

4. Score the survivors — Put the criteria in a table and score each route. Distinguish costs (longer distance, more escorts) from risks (a marginal clearance, an unverified segment) — a cheap route with an unquantified risk is not cheap.

5. Review side-by-side — Walk the comparison with operations, the permit team, and where relevant the client, looking at the two routes on the same map with the same constraint layers visible.

6. Document the decision — Record which route won, on which criteria, and why the alternative was rejected. When conditions change mid-project, this record tells you whether the decision still holds.

Comparison Checklist

  • Criteria and weights fixed before evaluating either route
  • Both candidates inventoried at the same level of field detail
  • Hard constraint eliminators checked first
  • Costs separated from risks in the scoring
  • Side-by-side review completed with stakeholders
  • Decision and rejection reasons documented

    • Common Mistakes

  • Comparing a surveyed route against an unsurveyed one and treating the scores as equivalent
  • Letting distance dominate when clearance margin is the real differentiator
  • Ignoring permit lead-time differences that decide the schedule
  • Re-litigating the choice mid-move because the original reasoning was never written down

    • Where RoadScope Fits

    RoadScope’s Route Comparison view puts candidate routes side-by-side over the same constraint data — clearances, grade profiles, POI counts, and jurisdiction segments — and the project record preserves the comparison and the decision as part of the route’s audit trail.

    Start from the Oversize Load Route Planning Checklist, or book a demo to compare your own corridors.