I don’t have time for a full-fledged writeup about this important issue at this time, but here are some links:
- Iowa plans to close some rest stops (Des Moines Register)
- Plan to close rest stops worries truckers (Des Moines Register)
- Iowa to close some rest areas along interstates (KCRG/AP)
Iowa’s rest stops are very important to travelers. As someone who has used them often, I would say that losing them would be a very bad thing.
The state spent around $600 million on construction projects in 2013 — just construction, not other DOT-related activities. The rest areas cost $6 million to operate — one percent of that amount. Even in a lower, $400 million year, rest area maintenance would have been only 1.5% of total costs.