Have you been driving, counting down the 50 miles to the next rest stop marked on your map, only to find it closed and barred shut? What do truckers do when the next services are another 50 miles and they are too tired to go on? During the recent financial crises faced by state budgets across America, a growing number of states have come to see rest areas as expendable rather than spend money on maintenance and repairs. For truckers, these closures seriously impact parking spaces for sleep, a safe place to stop and walk around when drowsy, get a snack, or walk the dog.
The American Trucking Associations opposes the closures, arguing that privately operated truck stops off highway exits can’t handle the truck traffic. The National Association of Blind Merchants and AAA have also spoken up against closing them. AAA cited the safety issues and loss of life, showing that a fifth of car crashes on highways involves drowsy drivers and warns that percentage could rise if rest areas disappear.
Many of the eighteen Arizona rest stops were closed due to the state’s budget woes, but the Arizona Department of Transportation (AZDOT) re-opened most of them as of October 6, 2010. Four have remained closed due to the need for serious repairs. Since 2000, Louisiana has permanently closed, 24 of its 34 rest areas. Six rest areas in New York were closed last year due to budget cuts. Maine, Vermont and Colorado announced plans to shut down rest areas because of cash constraints.
Each state pays for the operation and maintenance of highway rest stops, and Federal highway money is not allowed to be used on rest areas. To cover the costs, states are looking at allowing private companies to lease the rest areas as a solution maintenance costs. The proposed bill called “Jason’s Law” has provisions for joint public-private partnerships for more truck parking. Another option being explored is for the state to completely privatize all rest stops. Congress has to first repeal a 1956 federal law that prohibits new commercial operations in rest areas along roads built with federal money to allow this to happen.
In Minnesota, rest areas have been temporarily closed during the complete shut down of the states government, as of June 30th. Truck drivers are joining the long list of groups asking for relief on the fifth day of the state government shutdown. Truckers want the state to reopen freeway rest areas so that they can make their mandatory stops.
Currently, a note at the top of the Minnesota DOT website says, “Due to the shutdown of state government services, web pages have not been updated since 5 p.m. June 30. Email accounts and telephones are not being monitored and messages will not be returned during the shutdown.” From MPR News July 5, 2011 -Truckers want rest stops reopened during shutdown
Rest areas are not obsolete or expendable but essential to safe travel across the interstate highways. It seems obvious that a solution must be found to remedy the situation of too few rest areas or the money necessary to support them. With the breakdown in government’s ability to balance their own budgets and work toward meaningful solutions in many areas, it appears that rest stops may be left to private enterprise to provide the services needed to keep American goods rolling down the highways.
If agreements and solutions cannot be found in government, they need to get out of the way. Maybe this situation in Minnesota is the perfect eye opener to a national problem that cannot be allowed to worsen.
Other Sources: (From Wall Street Journal 2009 – R.I.P.: Budget Woes Spell Doom for Roadside Rest Stops
Rest area status in Arizona http://www.arizona-vacation-planner.com/arizona-rest-areas.html
www.interstaterestareas.com
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