USDOT Awards Grants to Improve Truck Parking, Freight Movement

The Biden-Harris Administration has awarded $1.5 billion from the Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) competitive grant program to projects that will improve freight movements and eliminate supply chain bottlenecks.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law increased funding for the INFRA program by more than 50% to help meet high demand for federal funding to support projects across the country. Over the next five years, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will provide approximately $8 billion for the INFRA program, including the $1.5 billion made available in this round of funding.

This year’s INFRA grant project recipients include the following truck-related projects:

I-4 West Central Florida Truck Parking Facility: $15,000,000

In West Central Florida, USDOT is investing in a project that will tackle the shortage of commercial truck parking on a corridor between Tampa and Orlando, which carries an average of 18,000 trucks daily.

The project will construct a new truck parking facility with approximately 120 spaces, electric charging stations, and pedestrian infrastructure to access nearby commercial amenities.

The truck parking facility will be connected to the Florida Department of Transportation’s Truck Parking Availability System to assist commercial vehicle drivers in identifying available parking locations and will include at least six electrical hookups to provide stand-by power for refrigerated trucks and auxiliary power for in-cab comforts.  

I-40 Truck Parking and Bridge Replacement: $22,600,000

The Tennessee Department of Transportation will upgrade welcome center ramps to meet current standards, add approximately 125 truck parking spaces, and upgrade the adjacent bridge structures on I-40 over the Caney Fork River.

The project increases access to truck parking and reduces illegally parked commercial vehicles that cause safety hazards, both supporting the National Roadway Safety Strategy, and improving operations and efficiency on a critical freight corridor.

Otay Mesa East Port of Entry Project: $150,000,000

The California Department of Transportation will construct a new toll road (State Route 11) and Port of Entry (POE) facility at Otay Mesa. The new Port of Entry will provide an alternative for nearly 3,600 trucks that cross the existing Otay Mesa and Tecate Ports of Entry daily, which are operating at capacity.

The project facilitates freight movement across borders with destinations at nearby distribution centers and warehouses, the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, and the Inland Empire’s mega-distribution centers in Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

Presque Isle Corridor Project: $44,100,000

The project will complete Phase II of a commercial two-lane bypass route of Presque Isle’s Main Street (US Route 1) in Maine, constructing an approximately 6.3-mile-long, two-lane highway that will connect US Route 1 south of the city to the current bypass section already in service.

The bypass will allow trucks to avoid 147 commercial/residential driveways, 25 street intersections, 12 crosswalks, nine stoplights and one railroad crossing. The bypass will reduce truck traffic at five known high crash locations in the project area and will also reduce emissions from traffic idling at intersections in town, according to the project description.