AASHTO Journal - WSDOT Program to Help Truckers Find I-5 Parking

The Washington State Department of Transportation recently launched a new program to help truck drivers find convenient and safe parking locations at rest areas and weigh stations along the I-5 corridor.

[Above photo by WSDOT]

The program, called the Truck Parking Information Management System or TPIMS, provides truck drivers with real-time and predictive information about parking spaces available up ahead. It also helps them plan where they can park up to four hours before they reach a specific location; helping ensure that truck drivers can find safe parking and that existing truck parking spaces are used to their full capacity.

WSDOT noted in a statement that, nationwide, there is roughly just one parking space for every 11 trucks – with 75 percent of truck drivers operating in Washington State reporting problems finding safe parking at least once every week.

In response, WSDOT teamed up with the University of Washington Star Lab to provide predictive information to truck drivers on parking availability up to four hours down the road. In addition, two vendors – Drivewyze and ParkerTruck – provide information for drivers either through in-cab displays in their trucks or through mobile apps on their phones.

Funding for the program is provided by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the federal Infrastructure for Rebuilding America or INFRA grant program through the U.S. Department of Transportation.

WSDOT added that this technology currently is deployed at nine locations along I-5 right now, with two more scheduled for completion later this fall. Additional locations along the I-5 corridor will be deployed through 2026.

Other state departments of transportation are involved in similar trucking parking support efforts.

For example, the Ohio Department of Transportation and Massachusetts Department of Transportation recently announced plans to expand truck parking and revitalize highway rest areas for motorists and truckers alike in their respective states.

In February, the Arizona Department of Transportation installed a new $2.8 million real-time Truck Parking Availability System or “TPAS” at the eastbound and westbound Ehrenberg and Bouse Wash rest areas serving both directions of I-10 in southeastern Arizona.

And in February 2024, the New Mexico Department of Transportation also completed a $2.7 million TPAS installation to help truck drivers find parking slips along 164 miles of the portion of I-10 it oversees.