The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) plans to install technology at seven rest areas that will help truck drivers safely park along high-volume freight corridors.
The Regional Truck Parking Information and Management System works with the aid of in-pavement sensors. The sensors detect a truck and send information to MnDOT’s Regional Transportation Management Center where it transmits back the number of available parking spaces to dynamic message signs.
The service will be available along I-35 and I-94 and on MnDOT’s 511 traveler information website.
“Truck drivers sometimes spend 30 minutes or more looking for parking spots,” Dan Rowe, state project manager, said. “We want to help them find safe, reliable parking so they don’t waste time looking, which decreases their downtime, and so they can move their products faster. There will also be less fuel consumption and reduced emissions.”
The service will become operational January 2019.
MnDOT is working with Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin to implement the technology. The project was first proposed in 2009.
The project is funded by the states and by a $25 million U.S. Department of Transportation’s Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery grant.
Minnesota contributed $177,500 toward the $1.4 million cost of installing the system in the state.