Dive Brief:
- Five states will share $62 million in federal funds to add truck parking spaces and launch action plans to find solutions to help truckers find spots to park, according to a Department of Transportation announcement. The states include Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi and Wyoming.
- The funding is part of $1.73 billion in infrastructure grants through the Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development program announced by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy July 7. The program also includes money for roads, bridges and port infrastructure improvements.
- “The chronic lack of truck parking poses a public safety risk, raises costs for consumers, and makes professional drivers’ tough jobs even harder.” American Trucking Associations President and CEO Chris Spear said in an emailed statement to Trucking Dive, adding “when drivers finish their shift, they deserve to know that they will be able to find a safe place to sleep that night.”
Dive Insight:
Many government and private efforts are underway to increase the number of available trucking parking spots around the country. The American Transportation Research Institute, ATA’s research arm, said the average driver spends nearly one hour of drive time daily searching for parking, resulting in $6,813 in lost wages annually.
The DOT funds will be allocated to these states this year:
- Illinois - $13.2 million to add 86 new truck parking spaces at two rest stops
- Kentucky - $25 million for additional truck parking at seven rest areas
- Louisiana - $640,000 to evaluate existing truck parking demand and the feasibility of expanding capacity while building out an implementation plan
- Mississippi - $22.1 million for 54 new truck parking spaces and to install technology to inform drivers of available parking at public sites
- Wyoming - $1.4 million to develop a winter truck parking action plan for the state’s interstate system
A total of 127 infrastructure projects in 52 states will receive funds through the BUILD program.
Besides government efforts to address truck parking needs, the private sector is also adding more sites for professional drivers to park.
Love’s Travel Stops, for example, is on track to add 1,500 truck parking spaces to its network of more than 51,000 this year.
Pilot Travel Centers, which has more than 900 locations across 43 states and five in Canada, has more than 76,000 truck parking spaces across North America, a company spokesperson told Trucking Drive in an email.
Pilot opened two new locations this year, one in Chicopee, Massachusetts, the other in Ponce de Leon, Florida, that together added 112 dedicated truck parking spaces.
