$332M targets shortage of truck parking

Approximately 1,000 new parking spots for truck drivers will be created at a cost of $332 million on projects in Florida, Wisconsin, Missouri, Pennsylvania and parts of the West Coast, through the Infrastructure for Rebuilding America Program, a statement by the U.S. Department of Transportation said.

While the funding does not improve parking infrastructure in Arkansas, Shannon Newton, president of the Arkansas Trucking Association, said the parking shortage is a national issue, affecting interstate commerce all over the country.

“Carriers based in Arkansas are serving customers and employing drivers in markets outside of Arkansas,” she said in an email. “Additional capacity in major freight corridors benefits the trucking industry as a whole.”

Safe truck parking ranks high on the list for improvements to the current road infrastructure, by both the trucking association and the Arkansas Department of Transportation.

According to the state’s freight management plan, the lack of adequate truck parking leads drivers to work longer when tired, or resort to parking in unsafe locations such as interstate highway on-ramps or highway shoulders.

A breakdown of the funding shows $92 million in improvements for I-70 in Missouri, $180 million for parking spaces in central Florida, $40 million safe airport parking in Pennsylvania, $12 million for the West Coast project and $8 million for Wisconsin.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the recently announced additional $4.9 billion for infrastructure is intended to help build transformative projects.

The federal funding for enhanced parking, while intended to improve safety, is also expected to improve freight movement and modernize the affected roadways, according to the transportation department.

Newton said there is only one truck parking space for every 11 drivers in the United States. She said 98% of drivers regularly experience problems finding safe parking.

“These shortages impact safety, productivity, workforce recruitment and environmental emissions,” Newton said. “Addressing this problem has something for everyone.”