INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Department of Transportation announced the launch of the Trucks Park Here system, a multi-state, regional effort to make interstate travel safer by creating a network of safe, convenient parking areas for truckers with the ability to collect and share real-time parking availability with drivers through dynamic message signs, smartphone applications, and traveler information websites.
Although access to safe and convenient parking areas for trucks is essential for a robust freight transportation network, truck drivers consistently have difficulty finding areas to safely rest. Drivers who have not located parking before reaching their hours of service limits are often forced to park illegally or unsafely, often on the shoulders of highways, on and off-ramps, or at abandoned facilities.
INDOT will feature 19 sites in the Trucks Park Here system along Interstates 65, 69, and 70. These routes are among some of the most important corridors in the U.S. with truck volumes already exceeding 25,000 trucks per day and expected to grow. These high truck volumes create congestion at parking sites, making it difficult for truck traffic to easily locate safe, convenient parking during peak rest hours.
Trucks Park Here uses existing intelligent transportation systems (ITS) infrastructure and capabilities, along with emerging vehicle detection and data collection technologies, to monitor the availability of truck parking. It provides real-time information through multiple platforms to commercial vehicle operators for over 150 parking sites across the Midwest.
Along with Indiana, Trucks Park Here sites will be deployed along major interstates in Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin.
For more information about Trucks Park Here, visit www.trucksparkhere.com.
