PennDOT Reopens Select Rest Areas For Truck Parking

On March 18, the Department of Transportation will be reopening select rest areas across Pennsylvania for truck parking. PennDOT rest areas were closed at midnight Tuesday in response to Governor Tom Wolf’s mitigation guidance regarding COVID-19.

To address safety concerns raised, PennDOT has identified 13 of its 30 rest areas in critical locations that will be available for truck parking starting tomorrow, March 19.

“Every decision made has been in the interest of mitigating the spread of COVID-19 and we are constantly reevaluating our response,” said PennDOT Acting Secretary Yassmin Gramian, P.E. “That said, we also recognize the importance of freight movement and that drivers need access to rest areas.”

Each location will have five portable toilets (one of which is ADA-accessible) that will be cleaned once a day. Electronic message signs will be used near the applicable centers to notify drivers near the opened areas. 

To prevent further spread of COVID-19, PennDOT does not plan to open any of the indoor facilities due to staff availability to keep facilities clean and properly sanitized.

These are the locations that will be reopened for truck parking:

-- Interstate 79: Crawford County NB/SB;

-- Interstate 79: Allegheny NB only; 

-- Interstate 80: Venango County EB/WB;

-- Interstate 80: Centre County EB/WB;

-- Interstate 80: Montour County EB/WB;

-- Interstate 81: Luzerne County NB/SB;

-- Interstate 81: Cumberland County NB/SB;

The department will continue to evaluate and will determine whether additional rest areas can be reopened.

For more information, visit the PennDOT Coronavirus webpage.

[Posted: March 18, 2020]