It shall be lawful for a highway authority to provide, erect, maintain and operate, or to join with another highway authority in providing, erecting, maintaining and operating, weighbridges or other machines for weighing vehicles or to contribute towards the cost of the provision, erection, maintenance and operation of any such weighbridge or other machine by any other authority or person.
The Secretary of State may exercise the powers conferred by subsection (1) above whether or not in his capacity as highway authority, but may provide, erect, maintain and operate any such machine on a road for which he is not the highway authority only with the consent of the highway authority, and accordingly the presence of any such machine on a road in consequence of the exercise of those powers by virtue of this subsection (as in any other case) shall not be taken to be an obstruction of the road.
The provision or erection, or the making of a contribution towards the provision or erection, of any such weighbridge or other machine shall be a purpose for which the highway authority may borrow.