A route survey is someone driving the route ahead of time with a height pole and a measuring wheel, documenting every bridge, wire, sign and turn the load must clear. Here is when states require it and what it costs.
A short in-state survey for a moderately tall load runs a few hundred dollars. A multi-state superload survey with a written report and photos can pass $3,000. Long routes are usually priced per mile. The number that matters is whether your route needs one at all, which the state thresholds below decide.
Height is the usual trigger. 41 states publish a height at which a route survey is required, from 13 ft 6 in (New Hampshire) to 19 ft; the most common is 16 ft. Some also trigger on width, typically 16 ft. The states with the lowest survey thresholds: New Hampshire (13 ft 6 in), Massachusetts (13 ft 8 in), Connecticut (14 ft), New York (14 ft), Vermont (14 ft), Maryland (14 ft 6 in).
Even where no rule requires it, a survey is cheap insurance on any load over 15 ft 6 in: one low wire or one bridge with a posted clearance an inch under the load costs a day, a reroute, and sometimes a damage claim.
The report becomes part of the permit application in most states that require it. FreightDeck flags which states on your route require a survey and estimates the cost; price a load to see it.
FreightDeck estimates permits, escorts, police, route surveys, engineering and the truck rate for your exact load and route, across 50 states and Canada.
Price a load free →Usually the pilot car company or a specialist surveyor. Some carriers survey their own routes for repeat lanes.
In most states, yes, for tall or wide superloads. Weight-only superloads usually get an engineering review instead of, or in addition to, a survey.