The Parking Zone – February 2024

Several states are pouring concrete for more truck parking, a trend that could continue if more federal funding becomes available.

Recently, Arizona, Indiana, Iowa and Wyoming have announced plans for projects that will add more truck parking to their infrastructure. Most of those projects are possible as a result of funds from the federal government.

Arizona wants to add 800 truck parking spaces

The Arizona Department of Transportation has announced plans to add more than 800 truck parking spaces at 10 different locations.

That’s the good news. The not-so-good news is that the state has funding for only three of the 10 locations.

According to the Arizona DOT, the department has found $32 million through the National Highway Freight Program. That’s enough for more truck parking at the following locations:

• I-10 Burnt Wells Rest Area near Tonopah, 103 spaces
• I-40 Meteor Crater Rest Area near Winslow, 140 spaces
• A new I-10/Route 186 Safe Lot just west of Willcox, 127 spaces

As of press time, the DOT is looking for funding for the remaining seven locations, including two more new safe lots:

• I-40 Crazy Creek Safe Lot, 176 spaces
• I-10 Ehrenberg Rest Area, 53 spaces
• I-10 San Simon Rest Area, 80 spaces
• I-10 Bouse Wash Rest Area, 55 spaces
• I-40 Seligman Safe Lot, 72 spaces
• I-10 Sacaton Rest Area, 20 spaces
• I-8 Mohawk Rest Area, 16 spaces

Federal transportation officials have been emphasizing the availability of funding through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Let’s see if they can put their money where their mouth is.

Truck parking projects included in federal grant program

The U.S. Department of Transportation announced that it has awarded more than $645 million from a grant program addressing rural transportation needs.

The Rural Surface Transportation Grant Program is designed to help communities around the country complete transportation projects that will increase mobility, improve safety and generate regional economic growth in rural areas. Two of those projects include truck parking.

In Wyoming, the state Department of Transportation has been awarded nearly $27 million for a project along Interstate 80. Located near the city Evanston, the project will create two new truck parking areas in southwest Wyoming. In total, 368 parking spaces will be built.

More than $57 million will go to a project in Iowa that will make upgrades to Interstate 380 between U.S. 30 and 120th Street. Most of that money will be spent on lane additions, shoulder widening and creating a diamond interchange. However, the project also calls for adding 14 truck parking spaces at the southbound rest area.

Indiana plan includes more than 1,000 truck parking spaces

Over in the Hoosier State, the Indiana Department of Transportation has an ambitious plan to add 1,100 truck parking spaces.

According to news station WTHR, the Indiana DOT plans to invest more than $600 million to improve 21 rest areas and welcome centers throughout the state. This investment will add 1,100 truck parking spaces. For comparison, there are currently 1,400 truck parking spaces at state rest areas and welcome centers, so Indiana is aiming to nearly double that amount.

Indiana town cracking down on illegal truck parking

More truck parking can’t come soon enough for truckers needing a place to rest in Greenwood, Ind.

In December, law enforcement in Greenwood began ticketing those parked illegally on interstate ramps. Truckers had been given plenty of warnings, however.

Another report from WTHR reveals the Greenwood Police Department had been warning truckers for two months prior to ticketing them. Drivers parked along the ramps off Interstate 65 at night had been getting a knock on their door and a polite “Do not park here” from police. But those days are over.

Now, truckers parked on the city’s interstate ramps will be fined $150 for each violation. Let’s hope the state DOT identifies this area as a problem for truck parking and addresses it.

Florida town addresses truck parking at home

While towns across the nation are banning truckers from parking their trucks at home, one Florida town is thinking about giving drivers that freedom.

By a slim margin of four to three, the board of county commissioners in Palm Beach, Fla., voted in favor of allowing trucks to be parked at agricultural-zoned homes, according to WPTV. The vote came after nearly 200 citations and fines were handed out to truckers parking their vehicles on their own property.

Although the measure has received plenty of support, including from the county commissioner, others are opposed to letting truckers park at home. Opponents have argued it will change the way of life in the community.

Nothing is set in stone yet; the ordinance change has to go through a hearing. And as of press time, that hearing had not taken place.

New Love’s locations

Love’s Travel Stops has opened several new locations since the last Parking Zone:

• 5430 N. Market St. (off Interstate 49, Exit 215) in Shreveport, La. (109 truck parking spaces)
• 1199 McNutt St. (off Interstate 55, Exit 178) in Herculaneum, Mo. (80 spaces)
• 1917 Highway 18 (off Interstate 85, Exit 2) in West Point, Ga. (79 spaces)
• 1264 De La Torre St. (off U.S. Route 101, Exit 326) in Salinas, Calif. (93 spaces)
• 20 Highway 607 (off Interstate 59, Exit 1) in Nicholson, Miss. (99 spaces)
• 10157 N. Love’s Ave. (off Interstate 94, Exit 34A) in Michigan City, Ind. (114 spaces)
• 23425 state Route 12 (off Interstate 81, Exit 47) in Watertown, N.Y. (71 spaces) LL