COLUMBUS, Ohio (WLIO) – Ohio is expanding truck parking across the state to give drivers more space to rest and take breaks while keeping the economy moving.
The state has launched an initiative to add parking for commercial trucks at 33 sites in 19 counties, including five sites in Allen and Auglaize counties. The project will create more than 1,400 parking spaces statewide, large enough to handle semis and their trailers. Ohio is one of the largest freight corridors in the United States and Canada, with the Buckeye State positioned within a one-day drive of 60 percent of both countries’ populations.
“What we see many times when you go into a rest area or go out of the rest area, you see trucks that are literally parked along the berm, not where they should be, and truckers are making that decision, not because that's where they want to park, but there's no space. And when they get tired, they run over their hours they got to stop. It's about safety. It is about making life better for our truckers, and it's about, frankly, keeping everybody safe, having anybody driving, whether they drive a truck or drive a car. When you get sleepy, you don't need to be on the road. You need to be off the road,” said Gov. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio.
Local expansion sites include the eastbound and westbound rest areas on U.S. 30 in Allen County, the eastbound infield at Willipie Street and U.S. 33 in Wapakoneta, and the eastbound and westbound rest areas along U.S. 33 in Auglaize County. Once completed, Ohio will lead the nation in the total number of long-term truck parking spaces available on state-owned property.
