Department of Transportation officials today announced expanded funding resources available to states for truck parking projects to make the U.S. freight system safer and more efficient. The American Trucking Associations and the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association wrote a letter to the DOT earlier this year citing that 98% of drivers report problems finding safe parking, costing drivers more than 56 minutes of drive time to find parking. That wasted time is estimated to cause a $5,500 loss per driver in annual compensation – roughly a 12% pay cut. “I’ve heard from countless truckers across the country about how the shortage of truck parking costs them time and money — not to mention making our roads less safe and weakening our supply chains,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a release. “We’re using funds from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to help address truck parking shortages, and we’re working with state and industry leaders to develop more parking that will improve safety and quality of life for our nation’s truck drivers.” The additional resources build on the Trucking Action Plan released in December. In recent days, Florida and Tennessee were awarded a combined $37.6 million in INFRA (Nationally Significant Multimodal Freight & Highway Projects) grant funding by USDOT to expand truck parking capacity. “This issue is of particular importance for women drivers, who repeatedly cite the lack of safe parking options as a deterrent to more women entering the field,” ATA President and CEO Chris Spear said in a statement. “Investing in these projects and ensuring all drivers have ready access to safe and well-lit parking facilities is an important step in shifting our industry’s workforce demographics and empowering more women across the country to pursue the rewarding career opportunities that trucking has to offer.” More information on funding eligibility for commercial motor vehicle parking projects and new requirements for commercial motor vehicle parking assessments can be found on the DOT website.