State padlocked 6 sites in January, says move could save $900K a year

Indiana hopes to save nearly $1 million by closing aging highway rest areas this year, but truckers who depend on the facilities for much-needed breaks are concerned about drivers' safety.

The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) shut down six of the state's 36 rest stops in mid-January. State officials would not say if additional sites would close in the future.

"There is a plan for going forward," said Bruce Childs, deputy commissioner of communications for INDOT. "It is still a work in progress."

Budgeting issues have forced highway departments across the country to close rest stops. In Virginia, 18 of 42 rest areas, plus a welcome center, are slated to close by Tuesday, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation Web site. Welcome centers are near state lines.

INDOT said it considered maintenance costs, customer demand and proximity to other rest areas before padlocking the Indiana rest stops.

Truckers say the closures in Indiana eliminate more than 100 potential truck parking places.

"The biggest thing is the safety issue," said Bob Hudson, chairman of the Safety Management Council for the Indiana Motor Truck Association. Federal laws prohibit truckers from driving more than 11 hours during a 24-hour period.

Hudson wrote to U.S. Rep. Baron Hill, D-Seymour, stressing the problems that closures can cause. When parking isn't available, truckers who have reached the 11-hour limit have two options: Park illegally or risk a citation for exceeding the driving limit.

The consequences can be deadly.

In April 2006, four Taylor University students and one employee were killed when a Michigan trucker crashed his rig into their van on I-69. The truck driver exceeded the federal driving rule by nine hours, police said. Witnesses said the trucker appeared to have fallen asleep at the wheel.

The state hopes to build newer rest facilities to replace the older ones, but there isn't a finalized plan. "There is hope that many of the facilities will be rebuilt into bigger and better facilities," said Brian Shattuck, facilities engineer for INDOT.

He said closing the aging ones could save taxpayers $900,000 a year.