WASHINGTON – Parking has long been a debated issue in the trucking business with the need for federal government or legislative intervention.
This week, the feds took a step, and made it public via media release.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced more than $4.2 billion in funding from the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda through two major discretionary grant programs, the National Infrastructure Project Assistance (Mega) grant program and the Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) grant program, both of which have historic levels of funding thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, according to the release.
The government stated that a total of 44 projects were selected in this round of funding, “including projects that improve safety, mobility, and economic competitiveness, constructing major bridges, expanding port capacity, redesigning interchanges, and more. Three projects – in Phoenix, Ariz., Chicago, Ill., and Providence, RI – received awards from both programs, following through on the Department’s commitment to invest in non-traditional, multimodal projects that have been challenging to fully fund with limited resources in the past.”
“Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Biden-Harris administration is carrying out ambitious, complex transportation projects that will shape our country’s infrastructure for generations to come,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “With this latest round of awards, dozens of major and much-needed projects – projects that are often difficult to fund through other means – are getting the long-awaited investments they need to move forward.”
The initiative is a capper to a nearly four-year period since the start of the Biden-Harris Administration where nearly $12.8 billion in funding through the INFRA and Mega programs has been announced for 140 projects across 42 states, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico, including approximately:
- 35 large bridge projects
- 18 large port projects
- 20 rail projects
- 85 highway improvement projects
Approximately 53% of projects that have received funding to date are in rural communities, and about 42% of projects are located in disadvantaged communities, delivering on President Biden’s Justice40 commitment.
“Lack of safe truck parking has been a top concern of truckers for decades and as a truck driver, I can tell you firsthand that when truckers don’t have a safe place to park, we are put in a no-win situation,” said Todd Spencer, President of the Owner-Operators Independent Drivers’ Association. “We must either continue to drive while fatigued or out of legal driving time, or park in an undesignated and unsafe location like the side of the road or abandoned lot. It forces truck drivers to make a choice between safety and following federal Hours-of-Service rules. OOIDA and the 150,000 small business truckers we represent thank Secretary Buttigieg and the Department for their increased focus on resolving an issue that has plagued our industry for decades.”
Projects include:
- $17.9 Million – Ohio Truck Parking Expansion Project Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) Trumbull and Preble Counties
- The project will repurpose two closed rest areas as new truck parking facilities; one on I-70 eastbound near New Paris with 100 truck parking spaces, and the other on I-80 eastbound near Hubbard with 38 truck parking spaces.
- NOTE: The I-70 and I-80 corridors are two of the most heavily used long-haul trucking routes in the nation. ODOT’s 2022 Statewide truck parking study revealed that over a one-year period, 654 trucks parked in undesignated locations within 8 miles of the I-70 location, while 487 trucks parked in undesignated locations within 2 miles of the I-80 site. Providing these drivers with a safer alternative to rest and recuperate will improve safety for drivers and other motorists alike. The project will incorporate video surveillance and the parking areas will be incorporated into the Truck Parking Information Management System, providing real-time parking information to drivers
- $12.5 million – I-43 Safety Rest Areas and Truck Parking Expansions Wisconsin Department of Transportation Manitowoc County
- The project will replace both the Rest Area 51 Maribel and Rest Area 52 Denmark facilities along I43 in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin. Each of the sites would include razing and construction of a new rest area building, maintenance garage, and parking lots for both automobiles and trucks. The capacity of truck parking would increase by a total of 72 stalls. Lighting will be replaced throughout both facilities, ingress/egress roadways will be reconstructed to accommodate the addition of truck parking stalls, pavement will be improved, and a substandard beam guard will be removed.
- NOTE: The project will increase the availability of safe truck parking facilities between Green Bay, Wisconsin and Chicago, Illinois, to eliminate commercial vehicle operators from parking in unsafe or unauthorized areas and improve conditions of the roadway connections to the parking areas. Additionally, the project will incorporate the rest areas into the state’s Truck Parking Information Management System, which provides real-time data to drivers on the number and location of available truck parking spots.
- $275 million – I-80 East Lane Addition and Shoulder Widening Nevada Department of Transportation Washoe County, Nevada
- The project will widen I-80 from Vista Boulevard to USA Parkway between the Reno/Sparks metro area and Tahoe Reno Industrial Center. Improvements include one additional lane in each direction, shoulder widening, bridge reconstruction, new pavement, and ITS facilities.
- NOTE: The project is located in an area of rapid residential, commercial, and industrial development, contributing to elevated crash rates that could be reduced with wider shoulders and reduced congestion. This project will connect the Reno/Sparks area with the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center (TRIC), create 50 new truck parking spots, and improve travel time reliability along the corridor. The TRIC facility is home to some of the nation’s largest manufacturing and distribution centers and is anticipated to produce 35,000 to 50,000 jobs over the next 20 years, as a key Northern Nevada employment center.
View the full list of Mega awards HERE and INFRA awards HERE.
Applications opened in March under a joint notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) for this year’s $5.1 billion Multimodal Discretionary Grant Program, or MPDG, which allows applicants to submit one application for consideration under the Mega, INFRA, and Rural grant programs.
As with last year’s awards, despite these historic increases in funding, these programs were significantly oversubscribed. The Department received approximately 200 INFRA and Mega applications requesting more than $27 billion in funding, far exceeding the amount of funding available.
Applications for the MPDG grants were evaluated based on the criteria published in the NOFO. The criteria included safety; state of good repair; economic impacts, freight movements and job creation; climate change, resilience, and the environment; equity, multimodal options and quality of life; and innovation areas such as technology, project delivery, and financing. The Department also considered cost effectiveness, project readiness, and certain statutory requirements related to funding and design in evaluating the MPDG applications received. Rural Surface Transportation grant applications are still under evaluation, and the Department anticipates announcing selections by January 2025.
Bruce Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has lived in three states including Arkansas, Missouri and Georgia. During his nearly 20-year career, Bruce has served as managing editor and sports editor for numerous publications. He and his wife, Dana, who is also a journalist, are based in Carrollton, Georgia.
