I-10 Corridor Coalition receives truck parking grant

PHOENIX – Arizona and three other states have received a federal grant to fund the development of a program alerting commercial truck drivers to available public parking at Interstate 10 rest areas.

Public parking for commercial vehicles is among the priorities of the I-10 Corridor Coalition, which Arizona, California, Texas and New Mexico founded in 2016 to facilitate safer and more efficient commercial and personal travel along I-10. Texas applied for and was awarded the grant on behalf of all four states.

The $6.85 million Federal Highway Administration grant requires a 50% match by the four states. Arizona will receive $3.2 million and will provide $1.6 million in improvements at four rest areas involved in the program for a total investment of $4.8 million.

In Arizona, the grant will be used to develop a system using signs along I-10 to inform drivers about available parking at four rest areas: Bouse Wash (milepost 53) and Burnt Well (milepost 86) in western Arizona, and at Texas Canyon (milepost 320) and San Simon (milepost 388) in southeastern Arizona.

The program will help commercial vehicle drivers better plan their daily schedules and reduce the number of drivers parking on freeway shoulders and along ramps. It will improve safety by reducing the number of tired drivers, allow drivers to spend less time searching for parking spaces and reduce emissions and fuel consumption.

“This is exactly the kind of breakthrough program we had in mind when we launched the I-10 Corridor Coalition,” ADOT Director John Halikowski said. “By working together, our states can create a safer environment on I-10 that will be more efficient for drivers and boost economies across the region.”

The I-10 Corridor Coalition is designed to remove “friction” – such as the variety of commercial vehicle permitting and inspection practices in each state along I-10 – to move goods more efficiently.

I-10 is the primary trucking route connecting the markets of Southern California and Texas with international shipping. If the four states were combined, the region would have the world’s 10th-largest economy.

Learn more about the I-10 Corridor Coalition at i10Connects.com.