Truckers and motorists traveling Texas highways will soon be able to enjoy 25 new rest stops designed to be more appealing and comfortable.

In addition to parking lots that will be expanded to accommodate both big rigs and passenger vehicles, the new facilities, which cost about $52.5 million, will feature air-conditioned rest stop buildings made to look like ranch homes, ferry ports or adobe buildings.
"Each one is being designed to look like it belongs where it is," Andy Keith, facilities engineer for the Texas Department of Transportation's Austin headquarters, told the Dallas Morning News.
Most of the new or refurbished rest stops will serve as information centers, but will also include hiking trails, a lobby with travel brochures and an attendant, security guards, playground equipment and native landscaping. Inside the buildings, Information kiosks will have online road-condition information. Most should be completed in two years, the paper said.
The program is expected to last another 18 months before the money runs out, but the state is planning on extending it for another eight years.
While the state is adding 25 stops, it also will be closing 42 others, leaving Texas with 95, the paper reported.