The eastbound and westbound I-44 rest areas near Halltown, Mo., at mile marker 50, between Springfield and Joplin will close May 29 and will be converted to a truck parking facility.

The Missouri DOT says during the closing a contractor will tear down the rest area buildings and remove the picnic shelters and picnic tables.

When the facility reopens at the end of August, it will be a truck parking facility with minimal restroom facilities. The truck parking facility will have waterless, self-contained "vault" toilets similar to the restrooms found in the former Doolittle Rest Area west of Rolla and in some Missouri state parks.

To keep the Halltown facility functioning as a full-blown rest area, the state DOT says it would be required under federal environmental regulations to make expensive upgrades to the water and sewer systems. With state DOT revenues continuing to decline, officials decided that money required to modernize the Halltown Rest Area and then maintain it should be spent on road and bridge maintenance.