Show me the money?

Another session of Congress has gone by without getting a truck parking funding bill out the door. Despite that, 2024 was still the best year for parking investment from the federal government.

In late October, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced more than $4 billion in infrastructure funding for dozens of projects. Among those are three projects that include truck parking expansion.

In Ohio, the state Department of Transportation will receive nearly $18 million in Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) grant money for additional truck parking at two rest areas. The project will repurpose two closed rest areas as new truck parking facilities. Near the Indiana border, a facility on Interstate 70 eastbound will include 100 parking spaces. On the other side of the state near the Pennsylvania border, 38 parking spaces will be built along Interstate 80 eastbound.

Further west, the Wisconsin DOT will receive $12.5 million to replace two rest areas, including truck parking expansion at both. The rest areas are located along Interstate 43 in Manitowoc County, Wis. More than 70 additional truck parking spaces will be included in the project.

Continuing westbound, the Nevada DOT will receive more than $275.5 million for a large widening project on Interstate 80 from Vista Boulevard to USA Parkway between the Reno/Sparks metro area and Tahoe Reno Industrial Center. Although the project focuses on one additional lane in each direction, shoulder widening, bridge reconstruction and new pavement, it also will add 50 truck parking spaces along the corridor.

Of course, that funding was welcomed with open arms by the trucking industry.

Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association President Todd Spencer thanked Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and the DOT “for their increased focus on resolving an issue that has plagued our industry for decades.”

“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,” Spencer said in a statement. “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.”

The American Trucking Associations pointed out that the nationwide truck parking crisis “poses a danger to the public, impedes the efficiency of our supply chain and harms truckers’ wellbeing.”

“We appreciate Secretary Buttigieg’s commitment to addressing this serious issue by supporting the decisions of Ohio, Wisconsin and Nevada to embed truck parking projects in their transportation plans,” ATA President Chris Spear said in a statement. “When drivers finish their shift, they deserve to know that they will be able to find a safe place to sleep that night.”

Unprecedented truck parking investment

It’s easy (and justified) to criticize the DOT for many of its shortcomings, but we have to give credit where credit is due.

Under Buttigieg, the DOT has awarded hundreds of millions of dollars to projects that expand truck parking. In just over a year, about $400 million was directed to such projects.

In January 2024,  the DOT awarded nearly $300 million for truck parking projects in Florida, Missouri, Washington state and Wisconsin. Those projects were also funded through INFRA grants. Most of that money went to Florida’s project, which will build more than 900 parking spaces along Interstate 4 in Central Florida.

That investment was preceded by another in September 2023, when the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced more than $80 million in truck parking funding through the High Priority grant program.

From September 2023 to October 2024, the DOT invested in projects that will create about 2,000 new truck parking spaces. That’s a drop in the bucket compared to what the industry needs and is sluggish compared to the pace at which the private sector is creating parking spots, but it’s the most progress we have seen from the federal government.

All of the above funding was possible because certain state DOTs prioritized truck parking projects and applied for those grants. There are probably many more parking projects taking a backseat to projects that states deem more important. That can be fixed with dedicated funding.

Truck Parking Safety Improvement Act

As of press time in early November, the Truck Parking Safety Improvement Act had not cleared the House and probably won’t by the end of the 118th Congress on Jan. 3.

This is the third time Rep. Mike Bost, R-Ill., has introduced the truck parking bill. Each time, the bill gets more support and gets further along in the lawmaking process. Despite bipartisan support from 26 Republicans and 26 Democrats and clearing committee within two months, the full House let the bill sit in limbo for a year and a half and ultimately die.

Hopefully, Bost will go for a fourth round in the 119th Congress. If he does, the trucking industry needs to go all-in with its efforts to get the bill signed into law.

It may not seem like a lot, but $755 million in dedicated funding would open the door to truck parking projects that states may be sitting on while prioritizing other infrastructure needs. Once funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act dries up, the Truck Parking Safety Improvement Act may be the only practical funding source to address the parking shortage. LL