MnDOT starts installing truck parking technology at rest areas

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.

Spring truck weight restrictions end for NC frost zone

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Minnesota Department of Transportation will end spring weight restrictions in the north-central frost zone May 1. Spring load restrictions have already ended in the southeast, south, metro and central frost zones.

Spring load restrictions are still in effect in the north frost zone. Road restriction maps indicating the locations of weight restricted routes and those state highways open to maximum 10-ton axle weights are listed on the MnDOT Seasonal Load Limits website at www.mndot.gov/loadlimits. Click on “Spring Load Restrictions.” Also available is a text list of the restricted segments along with exceptions to the map.

Permits for over 80,000 pound gross vehicle weight will continue and new permits will be issued if all axle and group weights are legal.  Up to full-summer overweight permits can be issued during the spring load restriction period only on interstate through movements. Middle-range overweight permits become available within each frost zone when spring load restrictions are lifted. Full-summer overweight permits become available within each frost zone starting two to three weeks after spring load restrictions are lifted. For questions about the legal weight and size heavy haul trucking call MnDOT’s Freight and Commercial Vehicle Operations department at 651-296-6000 or email ofcvopermits.dot@state.mn.us.

For enforcement questions, call the State Patrol’s Commercial Vehicle Enforcement at 651-405-6196 and select option 3 and then option 3.

MnDOT will report dates on its 24-hour automated message center at 1‑800‑723‑6543 for the U.S. and Canada, and locally at 651‑366‑5400 for the Minneapolis/St.Paul area.

MnDOT ends various spring truck weight restrictions

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Minnesota Department of Transportation will end spring weight restrictions in the southeast, south and metro frost zones April 14. Spring weight restrictions will end April 17 in the central zone.

Spring load restrictions are still in effect in the north-central and north frost zones.

Road restriction maps indicating the locations of weight restricted routes and those state highways open to maximum 10-ton axle weights are listed on the MnDOT Seasonal Load Limits website at www.mndot.gov/loadlimits. Click on “Spring Load Restrictions.” Also available is a text list of the restricted segments along with exceptions to the map.

Permits for over 80,000 pound gross vehicle weight will continue and new permits will be issued if all axle and group weights are legal. 

Up to full-summer overweight permits can be issued during the spring load restriction period only on interstate through movements.

Middle-range overweight permits become available within each frost zone when spring load restrictions are lifted.

Full-summer overweight permits become available within each frost zone starting two to three weeks after spring load restrictions are lifted. For questions about the legal weight and size heavy haul trucking call MnDOT’s Freight and Commercial Vehicle Operations department at 651-296-6000 or email ofcvopermits.dot@state.mn.us.

For enforcement questions, call the State Patrol’s Commercial Vehicle Enforcement at 651-405-6196 and select option 3 and then option 3.

MnDOT will report dates on its 24-hour automated message center at 1‑800‑723‑6543 for the U.S. and Canada, and locally at 651‑366‑5400 for the Minneapolis/St.Paul area.