How to screen an industrial site's truck access before a site visit

To screen truck access, trace the vehicle's entire path from the highway to the site entrance and loading area. Check the vehicle configuration, official route information, local restrictions, and physical movements along that path. Distance to an interchange is only one input.

This is a desktop preparation method. It does not certify that a vehicle can legally or safely use a route. Use the relevant road authorities, the operator, and an engineer to resolve those questions for the specific site and equipment.

Ask which truck needs to get there

Before opening a map, ask the occupier or carrier for its expected vehicle configuration and operating pattern. Record dimensions and loaded weight when available, arrival direction, delivery frequency, and whether vehicles need to wait on site.

A route that works for one type of truck may not answer the requirement for another. Do not fill missing dimensions with a generic warehouse assumption. Mark them as required inputs.

Check the highway and local road separately

Use the state transportation agency's truck-route information for the highway portion. In California, Caltrans identifies its California Truck Network as the official source for state-highway truck routes. It distinguishes route categories and vehicle restrictions. California Truck Network

Then trace the local streets to the actual driveway. Caltrans provides links to local route maps but says the local governments are responsible for those sources and should be contacted to confirm the information. A state-route map does not finish the local access check. Local truck routes

Save the route and the source date, not just a screenshot with a highlighted interstate. If trucks arrive from two directions, prepare both approaches. A permitted right turn from one approach does not establish the reverse movement.

Write down the movements that need checking

Use current imagery to identify questions for a site visit or engineering review: a tight corner, an unverified bridge clearance, a driveway near a queue, or a loading approach that appears to cross car parking. Imagery gives you questions; it does not establish clearance or turning feasibility.

Caltrans' QuickMap documentation includes truck-network layers, restrictions, and warnings. It also states that QuickMap is a road-condition resource rather than a navigation app. Use it to inspect the official information, not as a dispatch instruction. QuickMap documentation

Compare the unresolved routes, not just mileage

Suppose two hypothetical sites are under review. Site A is one mile from an interchange, but the local route and final turn have not been confirmed. Site B is three miles away, with a documented route and a driveway movement already reviewed for the proposed vehicle.

Those facts do not establish the better site. They establish different remaining work. Ask what it will take to resolve Site A's route and what could change if the truck configuration differs from the one reviewed at Site B. Keep travel-time and operating-cost estimates separate until you have a suitable basis for them.

Copy this route inquiry

Site address and exact entrance:
Proposed vehicle configuration, dimensions, and loaded weight:
Arrival and departure route, street by street:
State-route source and date:
Local-route source and date:
Restrictions or unclear segments:
Driveway, turning, clearance, and queuing questions:
Road authority / operator / engineer responsible for each answer:
Written response or review reference:
Outstanding condition before advancing the site:

Use the completed inquiry during the site visit. Record which questions were resolved and which require drawings, measurements, or written confirmation. Add the remaining access conditions to the wider desktop site-screening record.