In The News

Virginia OKs rest stop closure plan

As proposed, Virginia voted to close 19 rest stops instead of the original 25 targeted and to replace the two-hour truck parking limit for rest areas with a no overnight parking rule.

On June 18, the Commonwealth Transportation Board adopted the six-year improvement program for FY 2010-2015. This $7.4 billion program is down from the $8.9 billion in the FY 2009-2014 program approved in February.

The board approved the state Department of Transportation’s service reductions, including cutting the number of rest stops from 42 to 23. The six rest areas that will remain open that had been set for closure are on Interstate 81 (Radford south, Ironto North, Fairfield South and New Market North) and two truck-only Dale City facilities.

The CTB said replacing the two-hour limit on truck parking with no overnight parking will allow truckers to manage the hours-of-service rules better. VDOT will replace 225 truck parking spaces lost to facility closures by reconfiguring parking lots at remaining facilities.

The Owner-Operator Independent Driver Association and the American Trucking Associations have campaigned against reducing rest stops.

Also, the commonwealth will continue pursuing federal legislation to allow rest area commercialization, which is prohibited by law. NATSO, the trade association representing travel plaza and truck stop owners and operators, has battled this, saying it gives a competitive advantage to rest stop businesses over interchange businesses.

The rest stop closures will save $9 million annually.

www.eTrucker.com