Florida Slow to Respond to Truck Parking Need Along I-4
鈥楾his Highway Is the Worst,鈥 Says One Driver of Lack of Rest Areas
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The plans to start construction on a new truck rest area with 132 spaces near Interstate 4 in Sanford just south of the Volusia County line.
But that won鈥檛 happen until 2026, and the rest area won鈥檛 open until 2027. And it illustrates the challenges truckers face in finding safe places to park their big rigs in Central Florida.
Lack of truck parking 鈥渋s an issue nationally,鈥 said , a DOT project manager, at a recent Seminole County commission meeting. 鈥淎nd it鈥檚 especially an issue in our region here.鈥
A 2018 DOT study showed 481 additional truck spaces are needed in the Central Florida region because of the increasing number of big rig trucks on the highways. By the year 2040, the demand will escalate to 883 parking spaces.
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Currently, up to 20,000 semi-trucks travel on the I-4 corridor between Daytona Beach and Tampa daily, according to DOT.
According to federal laws, longhaul truckers must stop to rest for 10 consecutive hours after driving 11 hours within a 14-hour span.
罢谤别产颈迟锄听
鈥淒rowsy drivers, it鈥檚 not safe for them to be on the roads,鈥 Trebitz said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not safe for the rest of the traveling public.鈥
DOT鈥檚 goal is to build at least one new truck stop site in each of Osceola, Orange, Seminole and Volusia counties by 2040, according to recent plans.
The new Seminole truck stop site in Sanford will sit on roughly 19 acres just east of I-4, tucked between Orange Boulevard and School Street.
At an estimated total cost of about $60 million 鈥 including the land purchase 鈥 the facility will include restrooms, a dog walk area, electric vehicle charging stations, and a perimeter sidewalk for exercising.
DOT is pursuing federal infrastructure grants to help pay for the costs of building Seminole鈥檚 and other rest areas along I-4 in the neighboring counties. Seminole commissioners this week agreed to send a letter to urging his agency to approve the state鈥檚 grant application.
鈥淭his project has been on the books for quite some time,鈥 said about the new truck rest area. 鈥淭his has actually been discussed in this county for at least 25 years, that I鈥檓 aware of.鈥
We are putting our citizens in the path of managing truck stops for the entire I-4 corridor ...听Seminole can鈥檛 solve the [truck] problem for the entire region.
Seminole County Commissioner Andria Herr
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But Commissioner called it 鈥渆xtremely concerning鈥 that the state agency is still years away from building other rest facilities for weary truckers along I-4 in the neighboring counties.
鈥淚f those are not progressing to the same degree at the rate that ours [in Seminole] is progressing, we are putting our citizens in the path of managing truck stops for the entire I-4 corridor,鈥 she said. 鈥淭hat span between building these cannot be decades. 鈥 Seminole can鈥檛 solve the [truck] problem for the entire region.鈥
The other truck rest spots that DOT is considering near I-4 include:
- In Orange County, 20 acres off Sand Lake Road at John Young Parkway, which would provide 109 spaces.
- In Osceola County, 40 acres just south of State Road 532, near the CSX Railroad tracks, which would provide up to 234 parking spaces.
- In Volusia County, 73 acres along eastbound I-4 in Port Orange, which would provide 275 spaces, and 117 acres along westbound I-4 in Daytona Beach near the Tiger Bay State Forest, which would provide 253 spaces.
Those four sites are currently being studied, and it鈥檚 likely not until the year 2040 that construction would begin, if ever, officials said.
Trucks and drivers rest up at the Longwood, Fla., rest area along westbound I-4. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel via Tribune News Agency)
On Aug. 16, trucker Eduard Guiterrez was getting ready to head back on I-4 after pulling into the westbound rest area in Longwood the night before. He started his trip near Little Rock, Ark., and was hauling various merchandise on his semi-truck to Fort Myers.
He considered himself lucky to have found an empty space along I-4. In years past, truckers would often park along the shoulder of Longwood rest area鈥檚 entrance, until state officials planted dozens of 鈥淣o Parking鈥 signs along the roadway several years ago.
鈥淭his highway is the worst. Everybody knows it鈥檚 really bad to find a parking spot here,鈥 he said. If he can鈥檛 find a spot, Guiterrez will park at a Walmart or other business with a large parking lot that allows truckers.
IS IT REALLY THE WORST?
鈥淚 hope they do something soon,鈥 he said about DOT鈥檚 plans to build new rest areas.
said private commercial truck stops 鈥 such as Pilot or Love鈥檚 鈥 along major interstate highways should build similar facilities that offer more amenities, such as restaurants and showers, at a faster pace and more efficiently than a state DOT rest area. He hopes those companies consider building along the I-4 corridor between Volusia and Osceola counties.
鈥淭hat would be fantastic,鈥 Zembower said.
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