INDOT to open new truck parking locations on interstates

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.—The Indiana Department of Transportation announced the creation of a truck parking system on Friday as part of a multi-state effort to make traveling on interstates safer.

The “Trucks Park Here” system is creating parking areas for truckers with the ability to collect and share real-time parking availability with drivers through message signs, smartphone apps, and traveler information websites.

INDOT will feature 19 parking sites along interstates 65, 69, and 70.

This system is a response to truck drivers finding difficulty in locating safe areas to rest before they have reached their hours of service limits.

This results in truck drivers parking illegally and unsafely, often on highway shoulders, on and off raps, and abandoned facilities.

A study from 2013 found that 83 percent of drivers regularly took 30 minutes or longer to find parking. The study estimates that this costs the country $4.4 billion and increases CO2 emissions by 3.3 million tons every year.

The “Trucks Park Here” project is funded by INDOT, the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) and the U.S. Department of Transportation.