(Photo Courtesy of Commonwealth Media Services)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Newberry Township, PA) PennDOT, Pennsylvania State Police (PSP), Pennsylvania Turnpike (PA Turnpike) and Pennsylvania Motor Truck Association officials announced yesterday in Newberry Township that Pennsylvania is adding 1,202 parking locations for trucks in 133 locations by the end of 2026. This is the first expansion of designated parking spaces statewide other than through facility construction projects and will provide options that are safe for commercial drivers to meet federal hours-of-service rest requirements, which will both assist on this longstanding challenge nationwide and make safety for drivers better. The establishment of designated truck parking spots from PennDOT will occur on Interstate on-ramps with no safety concerns or sight distance, weigh stations used for motor carrier safety enforcement from the Pennsylvania State Police and various other locations within the right of way for highways. Sites that can be designated both cost-effectively and quickly were identified because of a close collaboration between staff of PennDOT and the PSP and spots will be marked with signage for truck-parking, which will be installed by PennDOT. According to PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll: “Truck parking is a nationwide issue, and with the high volume of freight traffic coming through Pennsylvania, the Shapiro Administration knew that we needed to tackle this problem. As a commercial driver’s license-holder myself, I know how important this commonsense approach is to our economy and workforce. By adding these spots – and looking at ways to add even more – we’re giving truckers many more options to safely park and meet their rest requirements.”