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Robin Hutcheson says she realizes the perilous situation<br />
many drivers are faced with when it comes to finding a place<br />
to shut down and get some rest.<br />
“One of the leading causes of truck crashes is driver fatigue,”<br />
she said. “It is clear that adequate rest for drivers is<br />
foundational for safe operations. We have heard loud and<br />
clear from drivers. They need more places to rest, and they<br />
need to be safe and secure while doing so.”<br />
Robinson said the agency and other federal offices “are<br />
proactively working at the local and regional level to point<br />
to the numerous resources across USDOT for truck parking<br />
construction, expansion, and technology solutions, and we<br />
will continue to work collaboratively with agencies within<br />
USDOT and with all of our partners in the industry.”<br />
Other efforts around the nation to expand truck parking<br />
include a new 84-space lot along Interstate 40 in West<br />
Memphis, Arkansas. The Arkansas Department of Transportation<br />
estimates that more than 20,000 commercial trucks<br />
pass through the area daily.<br />
In 2013, Arkansas’s trucking industry lobbied for a 15%<br />
increase in its own registration fees, in part to fund the Arkansas<br />
Commercial Truck Safety and Education Program.<br />
This program has afforded projects like the West Memphis<br />
parking expansion, according to an Arkansas Trucking Association<br />
news release.<br />
In Arizona, the Sunset Point Rest Area along Interstate 17<br />
is now open after the completion of a $7.5 million project<br />
developed by the Arizona Department of Transportation. The<br />
project added additional truck parking in addition to upgrades<br />
to the facility’s restrooms, water, and septic systems.<br />
In Nevada, truck parking enhancements are part of a new<br />
plan by Nevada’s Transportation Board to improve safety on<br />
and near the state’s highways.<br />
Also in Nevada, a startup company focused on truck parking<br />
is on an ambitious journey to create nearly a million parking<br />
spots around the country over the next seven years. Nashville,<br />
Tennessee-based We Realize Inc. (Realize) has opened<br />
its first location at the Last Vegas Motor Speedway (LVMS).<br />
Realize operates 74 truck parking spots at LVMS, located<br />
at the intersection of Speedway Boulevard and Interstate 15,<br />
offering truck drivers a safe place to park or store their cargo<br />
overnight. The facilities also feature real-time inventory, rate<br />
visibility, and online booking so drivers can reserve daily or<br />
monthly parking in advance, according to a news release.<br />
“With more than 3.5 million drivers competing for less<br />
than 300,000 parking spots daily, Realize is focused on<br />
providing convenient, safe and amenity-forward solutions<br />
to the truck parking crisis in an effort to improve supply<br />
chain efficiency and most importantly, driver well-being,”<br />
said Cody Horchak, founder and CEO of Realize.<br />
Meanwhile, trucking industry stalwart Love’s Travel Stops<br />
is planning major expansion work during the remainder of<br />
2023, adding 25 new stores and more truck parking spaces.<br />
Already in 2023, Love’s has opened several new stores with<br />
hundreds of new spaces for drivers across the nation.<br />
Other major truck stop chains, such as Pilot and Travel<br />
Centers of America, are also adding new stores with more<br />
parking spots for big rigs.<br />
TCA SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2023 www.Truckload.org | Truckload Authority 7