Increased safety regulations for commercial truck drivers have contributed to a nationwide shortage of safe parking for required rest periods. Many states face challenges in balancing supply and demand in real time. The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) sought to address this gap within their intelligent transportation systems (ITS) program and engaged our team to support development of a solution.
While developing TDOT’s ITS and Fiber Deployment Plan, we identified and prioritized projects across the state and aligned them with federal funding opportunities. When the U.S. Department of Transportation released the second round of SMART Grant funding in May 2024, TDOT selected the Tennessee Smart Truck Parking Availability System (TN-TPAS) as a strong candidate. The project addressed a high-priority freight need and aligned with SMART program goals.
Our North American Funding Program team led the application, coordinating with TDOT and partners and incorporating geographic information systems (GIS) data on crash trends, bottlenecks, and freight movement. This analysis provided support for project justification, identified a pilot location along the I‑40 corridor, and strengthened the overall grant submission. TDOT was awarded a $2 million SMART Grant in November 2024.
We continue to support project delivery including systems engineering, design, integration coordination, construction support, and performance evaluation. Initial work established user needs, a concept of operations, functional requirements, and system architecture. Our team is advancing design and integration planning for a pilot at the I‑40 Caney Fork Welcome Center, where parking expansion is underway.
The pilot incorporates multiple detection technologies such as magnetometers, video analytics, fusion sensors, and LiDAR to assess accuracy, reliability, and scalability. We coordinated with TDOT, technology providers, and contractors to support implementation and testing.
Now deployed, the system provides commercial drivers with advance information on available parking through in‑cab messaging and traveler information platforms. The evaluation phase is ongoing and will assess system performance and user benefits to inform future statewide implementation. The project positions TDOT to expand a practical truck parking solution that improves safety and supports more informed decisions for freight operators.
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