USDOT awards $200 million for 14 truck parking projects in 12 states

The U.S. Department of Transportation will put $200 million into 14 truck parking projects across 12 states, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation on Oct. 14.

Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy announced the awards through the department's Nationally Significant Multimodal Freight & Highway Projects (INFRA) program. The department said the money will expand public parking along major freight corridors, cut fatigue-related crashes, improve supply chain efficiency, and deliver significant savings. It noted that 40% of truckers spend over an hour a day searching for parking.

The largest projects by spaces include a Tennessee network adding parking for approximately 500 trucks at five Pilot Travel Center locations along I-40 and I-24 near Nashville and Knoxville, free of charge around the clock; approximately 305 dedicated spaces near the Los Indios Port of Entry in Cameron County, Texas, backed by $9 million; and approximately 275 spaces at a new Port of Savannah parking area in Garden City, Georgia, backed by $11.95 million to the Georgia Ports Authority.

Other awards include $24.5 million to the Iowa Department of Transportation to expand and modernize parking at six public rest areas along I-80, adding approximately 150 spaces; $6 million for approximately 140 spaces and 50 container staging positions at the Port of Wilmington, North Carolina; $15 million to expand parking by approximately 106 spaces at two I-41 rest areas in Dodge County, Wisconsin; $5 million for approximately 100 new spaces at a Pilot Travel Center in Fort Worth, Texas, along I-35; a new rest area on future I-49 in Crawford County, Arkansas, with parking for approximately 137 trucks; a facility with up to 260 spaces on I-91 in Enfield, Connecticut; and approximately 100 stalls at a new parking area in Needles, California, near I-40.

Federal Motor Carrier Administrator Derek D. Barrs called truck parking one of the most persistent challenges American truckers face and said the investment will deliver hundreds of new spots on major corridors, helping drivers get the rest they need and reducing dangerous roadside parking. The department said USDOT has invested more than $300 million in truck parking grants since April 2025, including $62 million delivered in July 2026 through the BUILD grant program for projects in Kentucky, Wyoming, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Illinois.

For drivers, the funded projects are not open yet — they cover design and construction — but they target the corridors and ports where the nightly parking hunt is worst, from I-80 in Iowa to the Savannah and Wilmington ports and the Texas border.