ST. PAUL, Minn. – Work is under way by the Minnesota
Department of Transportation to install technology at seven rest areas in the
state that will help truck drivers find safe parking along high-volume freight
corridors.
Minnesota is working with seven other states to implement
the Regional Truck Parking Information and Management System that will collect
and broadcast real-time parking availability on dynamic message signs. In
Minnesota the signs will be posted along the I-35 and I-94 corridors and on
MnDOT’s 511 traveler information website. The network will become operational
in January 2019 however some states, including Minnesota, could become
operational sooner.
“Truck drivers sometimes spend 30 minutes or more looking
for parking spots. We want to help them find safe, reliable parking so they
don’t waste time looking, which decreases their downtime, and so they can move
their products faster," said Dan Rowe, state project manager. “There will
also be less fuel consumption and reduced emissions.”
The technology includes in-pavement sensors that detect
the presence of the truck above it and send the information to MnDOT’s Regional
Transportation Management Center. The RTMC technology interprets the data and
sends the appropriate number of available parking spaces to the dynamic message
signs.
Trucking companies’ dispatchers can also access the
information on the 511 truckers’ page and relay the availability to their
drivers.
Other states participating in the project are Iowa,
Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin.
Truckers are required to comply with hours-of-service
rules that limit how many hours they can drive. Fatigued driving is a major
cause of preventable truck crashes.
“Rest areas fill up at night and truckers often park on
exit ramps, which are unauthorized spots,” Rowe said. “This is a safety concern
and when we provide safe parking for truckers, we also save lives by getting
fatigued drivers off the road.”
Project funding comes from a $25 million U.S. DOT TIGER
grant and the states. In Minnesota, the project will cost $1.4 million. MnDOT
contributed $177,500.
The seven rest areas with the technology will be at Lake
Lakota, Big Spunk Lake, Enfield, Elm Creek, St. Croix, Heath Creek and Forest
Lake.
MnDOT and the other participating states first proposed
the project when truck parking became a national safety concern following the
2009 murder of a trucker in South Carolina. Federal legislation, called Jason’s
Law, put a national spotlight on addressing the shortage of long-term parking.
