Are rest areas a thing of the past?

[shadyjay]

^ I understand closing and gating the rest areas, but resigning them as weigh stations

The Springfield "parking areas" on I-91 I can see making weigh stations and gating.  There was some "suspicious" activity found there last year.  But the ones on I-89 that were closed at least should be open to the public, if only for just a roadside pull-off... no need to gate the whole place.  Randolph-NB has a segregated truck and car area, with the building next to the car area, and requiring a walk up the stairs from the truck area.  If they plan on demolishing the building, safe access can be maintained from the "truck" area. 

At least one can take a break and run into the woods if need be, if they were open as "parking areas".  To simply gate them off to everyone is crazy in my opinion.  Although maybe they are going to do work, then resign them as "parking areas" like they did with some on I-91 in the early 90s.

[Sykotyk]

VT uses portable scales, so there's not additional cost involved other than the gate.

Sykotyk

[roadfro]

^ That, and the cost to resign the rest area as a weigh station.

[Scott5114]

Which potentially could just be twenty dollars worth of blueout.

[shadyjay]

No blueout required... the rest areas were already signed as weigh stations.  Original sign progression was:

Rest Area - 1 Mile
Weigh Station - 3/4 Mile
All Trucks - Next Right
Weigh Station - Next Right - Open/Closed
Rest Area - Right Lane
Rest Area - Weigh Station ->

[cjk374]

On I-20 in Louisiana, the only rest areas open are the state welcome centers, one at MP 95 on the eastbound side, and one at MP 97 on the westbound side.  In fact, the state is spending $238,000 to pull up all of the pavement at the rest areas around MP 58 .  That money could have upgraded those areas quite nicely IMO.

[pctech]

I think that LADODT list about 10 total interstate rest areas left including the Welcome centers.

Mark

[mukade]

Indiana has closed some rest areas, but is also rebuilding some. The new ones are generally larger. The following YouTube video shows one that is still being built:
I-69 rest stop under construction - YouTube (WANE)

This is the way it looked in March:

[roadman65]

I-78 has no rest areas eastbound at all!  Only a small parking area near Bloomsbury, NJ  with no bathrooms that will soon be closed the way NJ is about rest areas.   Westbound I-78 has one full service area at the Delaware River and a small area across from the only EB area.  Just like its counterpart, no restrooms either.

PA has a ROW set for one to be built in Berks County near Straustown already with stubs for its ramps, but nothing has been done.  The NJ Turnpike had a service area in Jersey City on both sides that has been closed for decades.

The Garden State Parkway had rest areas that have been closed.  One was actually shut down cause teenagers were having parties in the  area's bushes located near an elementary school where parents complained about their children being too close to the action.  Then the Tall Oaks area in Cranford had burglers using the area to park their getaway cars after climbing a fence to rob homes in an adjacent neighborhood and was forced to close in the mid 80's/

I-80 has some parking areas that are closed to autos, but very friendly to truckers.  I-295 had its Burlington County Rest areas closed some time ago, and have no idea what I-287's one and only rest area is currently.  It seems New Jersey does not want them!  With crime going up and it being a small state, legislators there do not see spending money to keep them anyway.

[mcdonaat]

On I-20 in Louisiana, the only rest areas open are the state welcome centers, one at MP 95 on the eastbound side, and one at MP 97 on the westbound side.  In fact, the state is spending $238,000 to pull up all of the pavement at the rest areas around MP 58 .  That money could have upgraded those areas quite nicely IMO.

On I-49, the state has ghost ramps for never-built Interstates. I think the idea for those is that, when traffic amounts are high enough, they will be opened up. It doesn't make any sense to have a WB closed, but an EB open on I-20. I stopped at the EB one time between Ruston and Monroe. It's a nice rest area.

[PHLBOS]

I-295 had its Burlington County Rest areas closed some time ago

Wasn't that the one that then-Gov. Whitman named the restroom after Howard Stern back in 1995?

Another problem we had in the Grand Rapids area, but I'm sure it's not just a local problem, was blatant and open homosexual activity at a couple of rest areas.  Not only that, people were stopping to use the facilities and being propositioned for sex and the state was receiving numerous complaints.  They set up a sting operation and netted somewhere around 100 arrests (I think) in one day, but problems continued.

It's probably not just a local problem though I have not seen any of it.

The situation you described appeared in the movie "There's Something About Mary" including the police sting! 

During the mid-80s, Massachusetts shut down most if not all of the rest areas along MA 24 (not the service plazas at the I-495 interchange) for that very reason.

As to why the ones in Connecticut werent taken down with the tolls on both the Turnpike and the Merritt (as well as Wilbur Cross), i am not certain, but at times, i was glad they were there!

One-word answer: Grandfathered.

Service plazas that existed prior to a highway either becoming an Interstate (Needham & Lexington, MA plazas along I-95/MA 128) or changing from a toll road to a free Interstate (I-95 & I-395 along the CT Turnpike) do not have to be removed.

As far as rest stops going away completely is concerned, it depends on the area and stretch of road.  If there's a 24-hour facility located at an interchange, there's no need for an on-site rest area; but, if there's nothing available for miles on end (many rural stretches fall in this category) then rest areas are still needed and warranted.

Another thing to consider, the average age of the U.S. population is increasing.  Given the recent barrage of T.V. ads for incontenence, bladder control, laxative products and the like; the demand for rest areas/stops could very well be on the increase in the not-too-far future.

[Mdcastle]

Mn/DOT threatened to close all the modern rest areas not located on an interstate highway and a few that were in the early 2000s in the "funny money" plan, to show the public road improvements without raising taxes, the idea being to sell bonds and use operational savings to pay them back. The legislature said "no way" and ordered them to do a study prior to any closings. The lone results were the closing of the Culkin rest area, one of four on the 150 miles from the cities to Duluth, and of the St. Croix Boomsite rest area by Stillwater, which was not on a highway used by long distance traffic. The legistature then ordered Mn/DOT to reopen the Culkin Rest Area, so they did.

The only other Class I (flush toilets) rest area closed in recent years was the Iverson Lake rest area, which was repeatedly damaged by flooding and was small and had the original 1968 building. There were 6 eastbound and 4 westbound rest areas on I-94 west of the cities so it was also somewhat redundant. Generally speaking new or rebuilt rest areas of the interstate system require a local partner to share costs.

Originally each structure was unique, including the deconstructionist Straight River buildings, and the earth sheltered brutalist Enfield building, but three rest areas were destroyed by arson in the early 2000s and many more are wearing out, and they're being replaced by generic, easy to mantain and vandal resistant structures.

Although two Class II (vault toilets) rest areas have been built in recent years the trend is away from them since the traveling public has higher expectations than in years past.

Class III rest areas are basically scenic overlooks and roadside picnic tables, and such and are also disappearing unless the site is particularly scenic or historic.

I do appreciate the fact that Mn/DOT realizes travelers that don't happen to be on a road with a red white and blue number need to stop and relax and use the facilities too, which seems to be rare among states. I always dread long trips on Iowa expressways without rest areas.