Truckers have a chance to improve truck parking in Missouri

Missouri wants to address its truck parking issues. First, however, truck drivers must tell transportation officials where the problems are.

The Missouri Department of Transportation is in the early stages of updating its State Freight and Rail Plan. According to Levi Woods, MoDOT’s administrator of freight and waterways, the plan is a “strategic document that outlines the visions, goals and priorities of Missouri’s freight and passenger rail systems.”

That is a lofty goal that casts a wide net to capture freight movement by truck, rail, air, water and other modes. Caught in that net is truck parking, an issue that MoDOT has identified as critical to transportation safety in Missouri.

MoDOT last updated its State Freight and Rail Plan in 2022. Part of that plan included a 106-page truck parking profile, which details the parking situation in Missouri. A lot of the information contained in that document came directly from truck drivers.

“Who’s better to ask than the folks using the system themselves?” Woods said. “We want to hear from the experts, the people in there doing it day in, day out.”

Woods and his team are in the process of compiling information for a new truck parking analysis, which is scheduled to be released with the updated State Freight and Rail Plan in the spring of 2026. Part of that includes a parking survey for truck drivers.

Truck drivers can take the survey through March 16 by clicking here or scanning the QR code below.

The survey can be done quickly and easily on a mobile device and is estimated to take less than 10 minutes. Drivers will be asked questions about their truck parking experiences in Missouri, including which amenities are important to them and where more parking is needed. All responses will be kept confidential.

Truck drivers are encouraged to take the survey. The more data MoDOT receives from drivers, the more accurate its truck parking analysis will be. For the 2022 analysis, MoDOT sent nearly 8,000 survey emails to truck drivers based in Missouri. Only 16 drivers completed the survey questions in full.

“I know these folks get inundated with surveys all the time, but this information really is valuable to us in making the best decisions going forward possible to help them and again, to keep everyone safe,” Woods said.

Woods said survey responses will help develop plans for truck parking expansion, particularly along the Interstate 70 corridor. However, more parking along other highways in Missouri may be considered if enough truck drivers identify issues in the same area.

According to MoDOT’s website, federal funds are provided to states that have freight and rail plans. Truck parking is eligible for numerous grants available through the U.S. Department of Transportation. On Thursday, Feb. 27, Rep. Mike Bost, R-Ill., reintroduced the Truck Parking Safety Improvement Act, which would allocate $755 million to parking expansion nationwide. LL