Truck parking expansion, restroom additions part of Iowa’s road plan

A five-year plan recently approved by officials in Iowa will facilitate truck parking expansion and the addition of restrooms at certain rest areas across the state.

The Iowa Transportation Commission recently approved its 2025-2029 Transportation Improvement Program, which outlines the allocation of an expected $4.5 billion in state and federal funds over the next five years for state highway and bridge construction projects.

According to the state’s Department of Transportation, the Commission “prioritizes investments that improve the safety and condition of existing state highways and bridges,” with over $3.9 billion of the program’s total funds allocated to projects of that kind.

Stuart Anderson, director of the Iowa DOT’s Transportation Development Division, said the state is also making investments that will benefit truckers.

“One of the Commission’s program objectives is to support accessibility by investing in truck parking at Interstate Rest Areas and to invest in vault toilets at parking-only sites,” Anderson told Land Line.

In total, the program will add 51 truck parking spots at existing rest areas along the interstate system over the next five years.

Anderson said that financial constraints in 2023 led to the delay of a dozen projects this year. Among those delayed projects was one to eliminate truck parking-only sites across the state, which did not have restroom facilities for drivers. But that delay turned into a benefit for drivers. Rather than eliminating the sites, the recently approved version of the program allocated funds to add vault toilets at some of the locations.

The state also is investing in improvements that will benefit truckers this year. A recently completed project added “24/7 modern restroom facilities” at two weigh stations along Interstate 80 – one westbound in Jasper County and the other eastbound in Dallas County. Additionally, work is underway on a project to expand truck parking by 18 spaces at the rest area located along I-80 eastbound near Victor. LL