This article is taken from the September 28, 2023 USDA Grain Transportation Report.
The Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) recently announced grant awards for a high-priority truck-parking project that is relevant to grain shippers. According to the Federal Highway Administration, truck parking shortages are still a major problem in every State. Aiming to alleviate the shortages, FMCSA’s budget for high-priority truck-parking projects is up 65% over last year.
In the most recent round of grant awards, DOT’s Nationally Significant Multimodal Freight and Highway Projects (INFRA) program funds a $22 million Memphis, TN, project to add 125 truck parking spaces at a spot along I-40. The project will also upgrade adjacent bridge structures. In a 2020, joint USDA/DOT report — The Importance of Highways to U.S. Agriculture — I-40 was analyzed as a critical grain freight corridor.