In The News
Truck Parking Update
An undeniable dearth of safe and available truck parking has sat perched atop the highest ranking of concerns for truck drivers, and the overall trucking community, for years now. Only recently has the Department of Transportation (DOT) been the recipient of some much-needed federal assistance to help in creating a surplus of such parking spaces and rest areas.
The Department of Transportation has recently been awarded over $30 million to go toward transportation projects for the creation of 210 new truck parking spaces and three new rest areas in Ohio and Wisconsin.
The funding is part of a massive award distribution through the Infrastructure for Rebuilding America program. This on top of last year’s $80 million in funding to improve access to truck parking and advance highway safety nationwide via President Joe Biden’s bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA).
Truck Parking Expansions
An Ohio truck parking expansion project will repurpose two rest areas, which had been closed, as new truck parking facilities. The new facilities will add 100 truck parking spaces on Interstate 70 near New Paris, and 38 additional spaces on Interstate 80 near Hubbard. The project received around $18 million in funding.
The project for Wisconsin will add rest areas and truck parking expansions to Interstate 43 in Manitowoc County. The project will also replace the Rest Area 51 Maribel and Rest Area 52 Denmark facilities, creating a new rest area building, maintenance garage, and parking lots for both cars and trucks. The project should increase truck parking capacity by 72 stalls. The project received $12 million in funding.
A project to widen I-80 in Nevada will also create 50 new truck parking spots, and that project received about $276 million in funding.
Industry Associations Weigh-In
The American Trucking Associations (ATA) and Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) made sure to tout the newest funding announcement.
“The chronic lack of truck parking poses a danger to the public, impedes the efficiency of our supply chain, and harms truckers’ wellbeing,” ATA president and CEO Chris Spear said. “When drivers finish their shift, they deserve to know that they will be able to find a safe place to sleep that night.”
"Lack of safe truck parking has been a top concern of truckers for decades and as a truck driver, I can tell you firsthand that when truckers don’t have a safe place to park, we are put in a no-win situation,” Todd Spencer, OOIDA president, said. “We must either continue to drive while fatigued or out of legal driving time or park in an undesignated and unsafe location like the side of the road or abandoned lot. It forces truck drivers to make a choice between safety and following federal Hours-of-Service rules.”
John Elliott, executive chairman at Load One and previous past chairman of TCA (Truckload Carriers Association) has been a staunch proponent of safe truck parking for years and states how “it makes my blood boil when I look at the number of trucks parked on exit ramps. They don’t want to be there; they just don’t have anywhere to park. It’s a last resort, and it’s not safe. It’s not safe for them, and it’s not safe for the motoring public.”
It's nice to see that there’s progress being made on behalf of the trucking community, addressing their major concerns and making things better for the industry one parking space at a time.