NDOT’s Innovation Brings Truck Parking to Big Springs

In an effort to combat the lack of truck parking across the state, Nebraska Department of Transportation utilized existing state property within the Interstate 80/US-138 interchange to create a parking lot that can accommodate 100 to 200 trucks.

The additional parking spaces provide truckers access to safe, secure and accessible truck parking. Also, this helps meet the need for parking for drivers in order to meet their service hours. The Big Springs community benefits from increased spending by the truckers, boosting the local economy.

The agency’s improvisation and problem-solving skills landed the parking solution on a listing of best practices being compiled by the Federal Highway Administration’s Office of Freight Management and Operations’ National Coalition on Truck Parking. The best practices are to be published in documents aimed to increase the supply of truck parking across the nation.

As the demand for parking continues to outpace the growth in truck traffic, it is a challenge to find areas that are suitable for parking lots and very expensive when considering right-of-way, pavement and utility services that generally accompany the facilities. NDOT was able to check off the main obstacles as the Big Springs site was already owned by the state and was surfaced with asphalt millings salvaged from past projects stored at that location. Garbage dumpsters were placed on the site and lighting was provided by already-in-place high mast tower light poles.

According to NDOT’s District 5 Engineer Doug Hoevet, “After seeing success at a similar facility created at the Sidney eastbound rest area when the Chappell and Kimball eastbound rest areas were closed, we saw the potential at Big Springs to meet the truck parking needs in the area.”

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