WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Highway Administration has officially launched the third iteration of the Jason’s Law truck parking survey, a critical data-gathering effort that directly informs where billions of dollars in federal infrastructure spending will be allocated over the coming years. For the professional CDL-A driver, this survey represents the most direct mechanism to influence state departments of transportation when they justify the construction of new rest areas and parking facilities.

First enacted in 2012 as part of the MAP-21 legislation, Jason’s Law established the truck parking shortage as a formal national priority. The original 2015 survey provided the first comprehensive, 180-page assessment of the crisis, forcing state agencies to confront the severity of the lack of safe spots. By the 2019 follow-up, findings confirmed that despite increased awareness, progress remained stagnant due to land use conflicts and funding gaps. This current 2026 survey aims to capture the evolving landscape of the industry, accounting for both public projects and the rapid expansion of private, paid parking capacity.

Significant capital has recently flowed into the sector, including $275 million from the 2025 Pro Trucker Package and nearly $300 million tied to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. States are finally moving on these funds, with Ohio currently expanding rest area capacity by 1,400 spaces, while Indiana and Pennsylvania are each adding 1,200 spots to their highway systems. These projects rely heavily on the granular data provided by drivers to convince local governments that land use permits are necessary for truck parking development.

What This Means for Drivers

Every OTR truck driver knows that finding a safe spot to park at the end of a shift is often the hardest part of the job. Participating in this survey ensures that the specific corridors where you struggle to find spots are prioritized for future expansion. If owner-operators and company drivers fail to provide input, state agencies will continue to operate on outdated models that ignore the real-world operational challenges of the modern supply chain. Your feedback acts as the primary evidence that keeps the pressure on state and federal officials to move beyond planning and into actual construction.

Industry Reaction

Dr. Nicole Katsikides, a senior research scientist at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, has long emphasized that building parking is rarely as simple as an agency writing a check. It requires navigating complex local land-use discussions and business arrangements that many states are not equipped to handle alone. Without robust participation from the driver community, the data used in these negotiations remains thin, which frequently leads to parking being proposed in locations that do not align with actual traffic flows or carrier needs. As trucking companies are hiring for roles across the country, the lack of secure parking remains a major friction point for recruitment and retention.

Key Points

• The Jason’s Law survey is the primary data source for justifying federal truck parking grants.
• States like Ohio, Indiana, and Pennsylvania are currently utilizing federal funding to add thousands of new parking spaces.
• Private sector expansion of paid parking has outpaced government construction in many regions over the last seven years.
• Local land-use regulations remain the biggest hurdle to new construction, requiring hard data from drivers to overcome local opposition.

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