Connecticut Plans To Close All Noncommercial Rest Areas On Interstates

Connecticut Governor Dannel P. Malloy's administration is planning to close two I-84 rest areas in Willington, CT permanently on July 1, as a first step toward the permanent closing by mid-2013 of all seven of the state's noncommercial rest areas on interstate highways.

The State Department of Transportation's brief announcement of the move this week drew protest from Michael Riley, President of the Motor Transport Association of Connecticut, who said that the benefit of the free rest areas to the public and truckers is so great that it far outweighs what he considered the minor savings that the state would realize from the closings.

The savings in staff and maintenance costs are predicted at $400,000 a year for closing the two Willington areas, the DOT said in a brief June 1 press release. Another $900,000 in annual savings would be realized by the subsequent closing of all five other non-commercial state rest areas on I-84, I-91 and I-95 — for an overall total of $1.3 million a year in savings out of the state's annual budget of $20 billion.

Riley said that the rest areas are indispensable, because they are "where truck drivers stop to get the rest they're required by law to have." Truck drivers can work during fourteen hours of the day at most, and can only drive for eleven of those, Riley said. By law they need to rest for the other ten hours, he said.

The large, state-maintained areas affected — which have rest rooms, vending machines, and parking areas in which drivers of both trucks and passenger cars can take breaks or sleep — include two in Willington and one each in Danbury, Southington, Middletown, Wallingford, and Stonington. The last five would close by June 30, 2013, the DOT said.

Entrances and exits will be closed with concrete barriers and signs.

By closing all seven rest areas, the state will not have to make a one-time expenditure of $14 million for improvements, the DOT said in its press release, adding: "These rest areas were built in conjunction with the Interstate Highway System in the 1960s and are in need of replacement."

The closings would not affect the service plazas areas along I-95, I-395, and the Merritt and Wilbur Cross parkways that have food and rest room facilities run by commercial enterprises.

The existing non-commercial rest areas have become familiar stopping points over the years, not only for Connecticut drivers, but also for out-of-state tourists and other travelers who drive through Connecticut. Drivers and their families can take food and bathroom breaks at the rest areas without leaving the highway.

The planned closings would mean that drivers would need to pull off a highway exit, go through a traffic light or stop sign or two, and use a rest room in a restaurant, convenience store, or other commercial establishment.

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