WisDOT's Truck Parking Information Management System (TPIMS) is an effort with other Midwestern states to expand access to truck parking technology.
TPIMS uses sensors and cameras to create real-time information about the availability of truck parking. Drivers can monitor for open parking spaces using tools such as dynamic roadside signs. TPIMS enhances safety and efficiency by helping commercial truck drivers plan rest periods without having to exit the freeway and waste time and fuel looking for appropriate space.
Wisconsin's TPIMS monitors 505 stalls at 12 rest area locations along 250 miles from Dunn County to Rock County on I-94.
- (23 stalls) Rest Area 9 – Lyndon Station (eastbound), mile marker 74
- (25 stalls) Rest Area 10 – Mauston (westbound), mile marker 75
- (68 stalls) Rest Area 11 – Portage (southbound/eastbound), mile marker 113
- (63 stalls) Rest Area 12 – Poynette (northbound/westbound), mile marker 113
- (28 stalls) Rest Area 13 – Lake Mills (eastbound), mile marker 261
- (30 stalls) Rest Area 14 – Johnson Creek (westbound), mile marker 263
- (82 stalls) Rest Area 17 – Janesville (southbound/eastbound), mile marker 168
- (52 stalls) Rest Area 22 – Beloit (northbound/westbound), mile marker 187
- (41 stalls) Rest Area 53 – Millston (eastbound), mile marker 124
- (43 stalls) Rest Area 54 – Black River Falls (westbound), mile marker 121
- (25 stalls) Rest Area 61 – Menomonie (eastbound), mile marker 41
- (25 stalls) Rest Area 62 – Menomonie (westbound), mile marker 43
TPIMS was made possible by a federal Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant gained in partnership with other Midwestern states.
Why monitor truck parking?
TPIMS builds additional certainty into the parking process, which is important for commercial drivers. The search for adequate, safe parking can take time and sacrifice earning potential. Lost time spent looking for parking can create losses in productivity.
Availability of parking can lead drivers to stay on the road looking for a spot, or alternatively choose to park in unauthorized and sometimes dangerous locations such as abandoned parking lots or roadside shoulders. Unauthorized locations raise additional concerns regarding driver safety, roadside safety and deterioration of infrastructure.
TPIMS is another step WisDOT is taking to be freight-friendly in order to enhance economic development. Each year, an estimated 341 million tons of freight valued at $445 billion is moved by truck on Wisconsin roads.
The system also is a step to enhance highway safety. In Wisconsin, "reduced alertness" by commercial drivers has been a contributing factor in 623 traffic crashes from 2011 to 2015. These crashes resulted in 23 fatalities and 514 injuries.
Using the technology
- All truck parking remains first-come, first-serve. The system simply creates a real-time monitor to display availability.
- Electronic message boards located along the highways will give commercial drivers real-time tallies of available spaces at upcoming rest areas.
- Additional truck parking is available at Wisconsin's rest areas and Safety and Weight Enforcement Facilities.
Wisconsin’s truck parking technology is part of a wider effort throughout the Midwest. Visit trucksparkhere.com to learn more.
Pilot study of truck parking app at three rest areas
Rest Areas
11,
12, and Rest Area
17 are part of a
pilot project studying the use of a smartphone app to check in and check out of truck parking spaces.
The ParkUnload app provides drivers with real-time information about parking availability and location information. Spaces for the study are painted green. The use and availability of these spaces are shared with truck drivers via the ParkUnload app.
Six rest areas in Iowa along I-80 are also part of the study. The study is conducted by Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI), the University of Wisconsin at Madison and ParkUnload. The study began in July of 2022.
