I-10 Corridor Coalition seeks grant to help trucks find public parking

PHOENIX – The Arizona Department of Transportation is joining departments of transportation from Texas, New Mexico and California in seeking a federal grant to develop 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 the states formed in 2016 to create safer and more efficient travel, both commercial and personal.

In seeking a $13.7 million Advanced Transportation and Congestion Management Technologies Deployment Grant through the Federal Highway Administration, the states are proposing a system that would inform drivers about available parking at rest areas through signs along I-10.

“When we launched the I-10 Corridor Coalition two years ago, this is exactly the kind of collaboration we had in mind,” 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 system would include ADOT rest areas serving I-10 in each direction at 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 would help commercial vehicle drivers better plan their daily schedules and reduce the number of drivers parking on freeway shoulders and along ramps.

It also would improve safety by reducing the number of tired drivers, reduce time that drivers spend searching for parking spaces and reduce emissions and fuel consumption.

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 10th-largest economy in the world.

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