WARREN COUNTY, Ohio — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced a new $150 million project Tuesday that's aimed at creating more parking areas for commercial truck drivers throughout the state.
DeWine, alongside officials with the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT), announced the new initiative at the rest stop off I-71 in Warren County. He said the goal of the project is to prevent crashes on Ohio's roads by providing more spaces for semi-truck drivers to stop and rest.
DeWine said more than 1,400 new parking spots will be added in 33 different locations throughout Ohio, including in Clermont and Warren counties.
He said, currently, there aren't enough places for drivers to stop, which he said leads to an increase in tired drivers or truckers having to park along the side of the road to sleep.
"We want to alleviate that problem," DeWine said.
See where the new parking spaces will go in the video below:
The land where the parking spaces will be added is all owned by ODOT.
DeWine said roughly 100 parking spaces will be added to the existing rest area in Warren County.
ODOT Director Pam Boratyn said there have been 689 crashes caused by drowsy semi-truck drivers in Ohio since 2015.
"Any accident we can prevent would be great," Boratyn said.
Boratyn said, once the project is complete, Ohio will lead the country in the number of truck parking spaces available.
We spoke to Charles Dingess, who's been a truck driver for 25 years, at Tuesday's press conference.
"It's going to make a big difference for us," Dingess said.
He said finding a place to stop and rest is a big issue.
"Anytime after 7 o'clock, you will not find a place to park," Dingess said.
He said it's not uncommon to have to sleep on the side of the road. Dingess said he feels adding more parking spaces for truck drivers will make the roads safer for everyone on the road.
"If a driver's tired driving down the road, it ain't safe," Dingess said.
ODOT officials said they are hoping the project will be complete by the end of 2027.
