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Providing help to truckers in need of rest with technology

Providing help to truckers in need of rest with technology

By John Halikowski / ADOT Director
June 5, 2020

At the Arizona Department of Transportation, we understand the meaning behind our True North, Safely Home.  In our vision to become the safest and most reliable transportation system in the nation, we want everyone who travels on our roads to get to their destinations, Safely Home. That means providing rest areas and parking spaces especially for truck drivers.  I am sure you have seen the long line of trucks parked on the side of a highway, which isn’t the best solution to keep truckers and motorists safe, when a rest area is full.

I am pleased to announce we have incorporated the number of truck parking spaces at our rest areas in ADOT’s Arizona Traveler Information 511 website. This new feature at az511.gov allows commercial vehicle drivers to see how many total spaces are available at each rest area on their routes. Truckers can click on the “Map Legend” box on the right-hand side of the screen and check the box next to “Rest Areas” to bring up the rest areas on the map. Clicking on a rest area location provides details on that rest area including the number of truck spaces. It’s one of the ways we use technology to keep everyone safe.

Providing opportunities for long-haul truckers to rest is important in keeping commerce flowing in Arizona. During this unprecedented time, truckers have been key to keeping grocery stores stocked and medical facilities supplied. Facilitating these safe locations for rest is part of ADOT’s vision.

There are currently 430 total truck parking spaces at the state’s 27 rest area facilities.

ADOT temporarily reopened two rest areas in Northern Arizona: Parks on Interstate 40 west of Flagstaff and Christensen on Interstate 17 south of Flagstaff. Both rest areas provide an additional 44 parking spaces for commercial vehicles. We opened these two rest areas in response to the current public health situation.

We have projects underway to upgrade two I-40 rest areas, Haviland and Meteor Crater, which will expand truck parking spaces by 38 and 60, respectively. Both truck parking expansion projects are scheduled to be completed this summer.

The I-10 Corridor Coalition, a partnership between Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas, has been developing a program that alerts commercial truck drivers to available truck parking at Interstate 10 rest areas. The Coalition received a federal grant to fund this effort. Our az511 enhancements are aligned with the Corridor Coalition efforts.

At ADOT, we want to provide help to truckers who are in need of rest with the latest technology.

Safely Home.