$200 Million for Truck Parking: Relief Is Coming to 12 States

Ask any driver about the hardest part of the job, and parking will be near the top of the list. Department of Transportation research found that 98% of truck drivers regularly struggle to find a safe place to park.

The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) estimates the search costs the average driver 56 minutes of drive time every day, which adds up to more than $6,800 in lost wages a year.

When the lots are full, drivers either run out of hours or end up parked on shoulders and ramps, which isn’t safe for anyone.

This week, that problem got a serious investment. On October 14, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced $200 million in grants for 14 truck parking projects across 12 states.

The money comes through the INFRA program (Nationally Significant Multimodal Freight & Highway Projects).

Where the Money Is Going

The largest awards:

• Minnesota: $27.7 million for a new rest area near Fergus Falls serving both directions of I-94, with about 63 truck spaces. It replaces a nearby rest area that had to close because of repeated flooding.
• Iowa: $24.5 million to expand and modernize truck parking at six rest areas along I-80: Mitchellville, Wilton, Victor, Minden, and Underwood.
• Tennessee: $23.9 million for roughly 500 truck spaces at five Pilot Travel Centers along I-40 and I-24 near Nashville and Knoxville. The spaces will be free and open 24/7.
• Arkansas: $23 million for a new rest area and truck parking facility on future I-49 in Crawford County, with room for about 137 trucks.

Other projects:

• Wisconsin: $15 million for about 106 spaces at two rest areas on a rural stretch of I-41 in Dodge County.
• Texas: $14 million, including about 100 new spaces at a Pilot Travel Center in Fort Worth and parking near the Los Indios Port of Entry on the border.
• Georgia: $11.95 million for a parking area at the Port of Savannah with about 275 spaces.
• North Carolina: $6 million for about 140 dedicated spaces at the Port of Wilmington.
• California, Connecticut, Illinois and Nebraska also received grants. The full award list is on the DOT website.

The mix of projects matters. Several sit at ports and border crossings, where drivers often wait hours for appointments with nowhere legal to park. Others target major freight corridors like I-80 and I-40, where overnight parking fills up early.

What It Means for Drivers and Owner-Operators

For a driver, an hour saved on parking each day is an hour that can go to driving, earning, or resting. For an owner-operator, that time goes straight to the bottom line.

More dependable parking also means better trip planning, fewer forced violations at the end of a shift, and less risk from parking on a ramp shoulder.

More May Be on the Way

This isn’t a one-time effort. DOT has put more than $300 million into truck parking grants since April 2025. Congress is also working on another $200 million for truck parking in the upcoming fiscal year funding bill.

The American Trucking Associations praised the announcement, calling parking a critical safety and supply chain issue for both drivers and motorists.

One caveat: these spaces won’t open overnight. Projects still need design and construction. Still, after years of drivers raising the issue, it’s a meaningful step in the right direction.

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