Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer and the Arizona Department of Transportation are pushing to change the way states operate rest areas without cutting into budgets for public safety services.

ADOT Director John Halikowski led a discussion on rest area commercialization with transportation leaders from across the nation during the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials meeting recently. Arizona has been working to change federal policies they say penalize states with newer infrastructure by prohibiting privatization or partnerships to operate rest areas.

Last fall, ADOT announced plans to temporarily close 13 highway rest areas as part of efforts to address a $100 million budget shortfall.

Currently, only states with rest areas in operation before passage of the 1956 Interstate Highway Act are eligible to privatize, outsource or engage in public-private partnerships. Arizona has none of those options and, unlike East Coast states, has long stretches of open highway, some with few driver services. Other Western region state transportation departments are supporting Arizona's call for reform.

Arizona officials are working with its Congressional delegation and other states to seek changes in federal law to allow for alternative funding strategies and flexibility to use federal highway funds. For now, the operation of rest areas continues to be part of ADOT's operations budget, a fund already constrained to provide highway maintenance, customer service, law enforcement support and other public safety services.

"Rest areas are part of the nation's highway system. While vehicles have become more fuel efficient, safe and comfortable, drivers - including commercial drivers - still need opportunities to stop and rest in safe locations," Halikowski said. "Budget restrictions and dramatic declines in revenues mean that some difficult decisions have to be made in order to prioritize safety services. Arizona has been teased by the East Coast media as 'hanging up on Nature's call' or moving to install pay toilets. The truth is that all states need greater flexibility from the federal government to complete our mission - a mission that is diverse beyond rest areas."

A representative of NATSO, the organization representing travel plazas and truckstops, warned the meeting participants of the negative impacts rest area commercialization would have on local communities and small businesses that rely on Interstate highway traffic. The group maintains that privatization of rest areas would amount to unfair competition to existing businesses along Interstate highways.

NATSO has cited a University of Maryland study, first published in 1997 and updated in 2003, which found that commercialization has a chilling effect on interchange business development.