The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded $61.7 million in grants Wednesday to add new truck parking spaces across four states.
The federal investment, announced by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, aims to make it easier for truck drivers to locate safe parking along major freight corridors stretching from the West to the East Coast.
Funding was awarded through the USDOT’s Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development, or BUILD, grant program. The grants include:
- Kentucky: $25 million to add truck parking at seven rest areas and install real-time parking information systems.
- Mississippi: $22.1 million to add 54 spaces to a rest area and install real-time parking information systems.
- Illinois: $13.2 million to add 45 rest area spaces.
- Wyoming: $1.4 million to improve winter parking options for trucks.
"The chronic lack of truck parking poses a public safety risk, raises costs for consumers, and makes professional drivers’ tough jobs even harder," said American Trucking Associations. President and CEO Chris Spear. "When drivers finish their shift, they deserve to know that they will be able to find a safe place to sleep that night."
Finding safe parking is a pervasive issue in the freight industry. According to a USDOT study, 98% of truck drivers regularly struggle to find safe parking. Research by the American Transportation Research Institute found that the average driver loses 56 minutes of driving time per day searching for a space, costing drivers an average of $6,813 in lost annual wages.
The ATA is pushing for further federal action, backing the Truck Parking Safety Improvement Act. Introduced by Reps. Mike Bost, R-Ill., and Angie Craig, D-Minn., the bill would authorize $755 million in competitive grants to expand commercial truck parking capacity nationwide. The trucking group also supports the BUILD America 250 Act, which proposes $750 million over five years for truck parking construction.
Congress approved $200 million for truck parking in the fiscal year 2026 appropriations package. Spear urged lawmakers to build on the momentum, noting that Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Steve Womack, R-Ark., is currently working to approve an additional $200 million for truck parking in the upcoming fiscal year's funding bill.
