Highway Bill Would Expand Access to Truck Parking

The House highway bill includes a provision aimed at expanding truck parking. (vitpho/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — A $580 billion surface transportation reauthorization bill under House consideration would require the Department of Transportation to establish a grant program aimed at expanding parking access for commercial vehicles.

The legislation, formally titled the BUILD America 250 Act, would direct the transportation secretary to move forward with grants for projects designed to increase the availability or use of truck parking, facilitate freight movement and improve highway safety. Eligible applicants would be required to demonstrate the ability to help maintain and operate such facilities.

Expanding access to truck parking has long been a top priority for freight stakeholders. American Trucking Associations has repeatedly warned that insufficient parking threatens safety and efficiency across the industry.

“The highway bill has always been a bipartisan product, and it is encouraging to see Republicans and Democrats coming together prior to the Sept. 30 deadline to expand truck parking, enforce safety rules and take additional steps that will strengthen our industry,” ATA President Chris Spear said in response to the measure’s introduction. “ATA is committed to being a constructive partner throughout the legislative process.”

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Spear 

The American Transportation Research Institute has consistently ranked insufficient truck parking availability among the industry’s most pressing concerns.

Truck parking projects received a boost earlier this year when President Donald Trump enacted government funding legislation providing $200 million for such initiatives. The Federal Highway Administration is responsible for administering those funds, which are intended to improve safety and efficiency along freight and commuter corridors.

Beyond parking, the House bill would establish a federal safety standard for autonomous trucks operating in interstate commerce. Under the proposal, manufacturers of vehicles equipped with autonomous driving systems (ADS) would be required to meet existing regulations, demonstrate safety performance and comply with reporting requirements. Operators of ADS-equipped commercial vehicles also would be subject to further rulemakings and recommendations.

ATA said the provision would require DOT to develop performance-based requirements to ensure autonomous vehicle deployments prioritize safety.

The House legislation also addresses other trucking industry priorities, including improving access to restrooms for commercial drivers, extending a pilot apprenticeship program aimed at recruiting and retaining 18- to 20-year-old commercial drivers, and strengthening consumer protections in the moving and storage sector.

Additional provisions would adopt Trump administration policies tied to commercial driver license requirements, expand pathways for veterans to enter the freight workforce and require reviews of the economic impacts of cargo theft.

As part of that effort, the transportation secretary would be directed to establish an advisory committee on cargo theft and freight fraud. The panel would examine how and where theft occurs, the associated financial and supply chain impacts, existing security measures, and relevant DOT policies and data systems before issuing industrywide recommendations.

The highway bill also would create new annual registration fees for electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids, which sponsors described as the first new revenue stream for the Highway Trust Fund in decades.

The trust fund is primarily supported by federal fuel taxes of 18.4 cents per gallon on gasoline and 24.4 cents per gallon on diesel — rates that have not been increased since 1993.

The bipartisan bill was scheduled for markup by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on May 21.

Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-Mo.) and Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Wash.), the ranking member, crafted the five-year proposal as lawmakers work to meet a Sept. 30 authorization deadline for federal highway programs.

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Graves 

“Like the America 250 celebration this year, this bill is not simply about honoring our past — it’s about moving forward and building upon the legacy of our nation’s infrastructure,” said Graves, who will retire from Congress at the end of the year.

Added Larsen, “The BUILD America 250 Act makes key investments in the nation’s transportation — from restoring aging bridges and repairing crumbling roads to building out safe, accessible transit and bike infrastructure.”

In the Senate, lawmakers have yet to schedule consideration of their own surface transportation package. Speaking May 19 at an Infrastructure Week reception at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), chairwoman of the committee on highways, pointed to a crowded legislative calendar ahead of the fall midterm elections.

The House bill has drawn praise from several transportation and construction industry groups.

“Highway congestion and port delays alone are costing manufacturers nearly $40 billion annually and freight delays account for 65 million hours of lost efficiency each year,” said Erin Streeter, executive vice president of the National Association of Manufacturers. “By passing a robust surface transportation reauthorization bill and bipartisan, comprehensive permitting reform this year, Congress can take a major step forward to reduce congestion, improve reliability and empower manufacturers to make and move products that reach millions worldwide — supporting communities here at home.”

The Coalition for America’s Gateways and Trade Corridors, however, raised concerns about funding levels for freight-specific projects.

“For decades, the nation’s freight assets were overlooked in federal surface transportation programs,” CAGTC Executive Director Elaine Nessle said. “The progress achieved through the last two infrastructure laws to prioritize investment in supply chain infrastructure would be significantly weakened under this proposal.”