PHOENIX – To enhance safety and help empower the economy, electronics signs installed by the Arizona Department of Transportation now tell truckers how many parking spaces are available at Interstate 10 rest areas in western and southeastern Arizona. 

The real-time information provided through the Truck Parking Availability System (TPAS) helps truckers get the rest they need without having to use places that aren’t designated for truck parking. 

ADOT installed the $2.8 million system at the eastbound and westbound Ehrenberg and Bouse Wash rest areas between the Valley and California and at the Texas Canyon and San Simon rest areas serving both directions of I-10 in southeastern Arizona. 

Monitoring systems track available parking and share that information to electronic signs and third-party sources used by truck drivers. The information also will be added to the Arizona Traveler Information website at az511.gov.

The Truck Parking Availability System is part of a $13.7 million initiative spearheaded by the  I-10 Corridor Coalition, through which Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas promote safer and more efficient travel for both people and freight. The funding includes a $6.85 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation. The system provides truck drivers with information on more than 550 parking spots across California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.

It’s part of a larger ADOT effort to provide more truck parking around the state. The Statewide Truck Implementation Parking Plan has proposed 842 parking spaces that include existing expanded parking at rest areas and three new lots for truck parking. That plan includes $32 million in funding to add 370 spaces at I-10 Burnt Wells Rest Area near Tonopah, I-40 Meteor Crater Rest Area near Winslow and a new at I-10 and State Route 186 west of Willcox.

ADOT has expanded truck parking at two rest areas since 2019, nearly doubling truck parking by adding 56 spaces to the Meteor Crater Rest Area on I-40 between Flagstaff and Winslow, along with adding 38 new spaces to the Haviland Rest area on I-40 west of Kingman.

According to a poll conducted in 2020 by the I-10 Corridor Coalition, 78% of truck drivers spend more than 30 minutes seeking safe parking. The lack of safe parking often leads to many drivers parking on shoulders, ramps or other undesignated areas. 

For more information on the Truck Parking Availability System in Arizona, please visit azdot.gov/tpas. To learn more about the I-10 Corridor Coalition, please visit i10connects.com. 

PHOENIX – To address the growing demand for commercial truck parking along state highways, the Arizona Department of Transportation has developed a statewide truck parking plan that recommends expanding parking at existing rest areas and adding three new facilities.

After gathering feedback from the trucking industry, ADOT is seeking public input as transportation planners look to construct 842 truck parking spaces in 10 locations along interstates in areas with the greatest needs. These locations are along Interstate 10, Interstate 40 and Interstate 8 and are at existing rest areas and three proposed “safe lots” that would provide parking only for commercial trucks.

ADOT recommends the additional parking based on demand at existing rest areas and where undesignated truck parking occurs. Other factors include cost, ease of implementation and input from the trucking industry.  The plan recommends first adding parking to three critical locations – Burnt Wells, Meteor Crater, and a new safe lot near Willcox – based on the $32 million in funding currently available through the National Highway Freight Program. 

• I-10 Burnt Wells Rest Area near Tonopah, 103 spaces
• I-40 Meteor Crater Rest Area near Winslow, 140 spaces
• A new I-10/State Route 186 safe lot just west of Willcox, 127 spaces

Parking at the additional seven locations below could be added as ADOT seeks future funding.

• I-40 Crazy Creek, a new safe lot about 35 miles east of Holbrook, 176 spaces
• I-10 Ehrenberg Rest Area, 53 spaces
• I-10 San Simon Rest Area, 80 spaces
• I-10 Bouse Wash Rest Area, 55 spaces
• I-40 Seligman, a new safe lot, 72 spaces
• I-10 Sacaton Rest Area, 20 spaces
• I-8 Mohawk Rest Area, 16 spaces

The added parking would be in addition to $18 million in current projects that are expanding parking at five rest areas, also funded by the National Highway Freight Program.

• I-40 Haviland Rest Area
• I-40 Parks Rest Area
• I-17 Christensen Rest Area
• I-17 McGuireville Rest Area
• I-17 Sunset Point Rest Area

The draft statewide truck parking implementation plan is now available for review. Comments can be provided on the plan through Tuesday, Dec. 19, in the following ways:

• Comment form: azdot.gov/TruckParkingComments
• Email: [email protected]
• ADOT Project Information Line: 855.712.8530
• Mail: Nancy Becerra, c/o ADOT Communications, 1655 W. Jackson St., MD 126F,

Phoenix, AZ 85007

Truck Parking Implementation Plan study documents and a map of the recommended new truck parking locations are available for review on the study website at azdot.gov/TruckParking.