Interstate Oases

[corco]

So about a month ago I was driving back to Wyoming from Idaho and took the I-86/US-30 route instead of going down to Utah like I normally do in order to clinch US-30 in Wyoming (and most of Idaho). Followed US-30, followed US-30, went through Pocatello, got on I-15 South where US-30 joins I-15, went a few miles, got past Inkom, got to where 30 splits off to head into Wyoming, and was greeted with this sign.



"What?" I thought. "Am I in Illinois?" "Is it 1997 again?" "Where did all these sagebrush come from?" "I didn't know Idaho had toll roads." were the thoughts running through my head. Interstate Oases, in my mind, have always been service areas off tollways in Illinois- not whatever this thing was in southeastern Idaho

By then I'd gotten to this sign
.

I then realized "Holy mackeral, that wasn't a weird typo, this thing is for real." Fortunately, I had to exit here anyway

So, I exited, got this sign


By now, I was quite confused. So I turned left

Then I got to this Oasis and it led to a Flying J truck stop. "That's weird," I thought.

So, I went to the googlemachine once I got home, found it's a SAFETEA program. (http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/safetealu/factsheets/iop.htm)

That's neat. I'd never heard of this. Do these exist anywhere else? Does anybody know anything about these things? Seems like a cool concept, but have they been implemented extensively anywhere, or is this random truck stop in Idaho a strange aberration? It seems like a great alternative to the public rest area in theory, but is it?

[Ian]

I have not seen or heard of one anywhere before (besides Illinois). But I remember seeing a sign for it in the 2009 MUTCD. It was even included with a shnazy palm tree symbol.

[3467]

IN OH and PA have them off the toll roads and I think OK has one overhead like those on the Tri-State and Northwest Tollways(for real nerds there is a spot on 88 for one never built. Only Dekalb was ever built)
Is this one associated withthe Department of Transportation? Is it a Concession or some other arrangeent?

[corco]

From what I can tell this just falls into the scope of that SAFETEA provision linked to above- where in very limited research it seems like it's a deal where almost any truck stop with parking near an Interstate basically just has to say "You can use our bathrooms/park here temporarily without buying something" and then whatever DOT will put up the signs, and maybe or maybe not receive a small amount of funding (I'm not sure how that works, if it even exists)

I've never seen these anywhere else in Idaho, and I'm on I-84 and I-90 a lot, so the program hasn't really kicked off here- maybe this is a pilot station (actually, it's a Flying J  ) to test the program within the state or something

Those signs are definitely ITD erected, so it is DOT associated, I guess

But the ones in Ohio and Pennsylvania are signed as "Interstate Oasis"? Tollways generally have some sort of private enterprise turnoffs with varying names (Service Area, Plaza, etc), but I've never heard of one on a freeway officially cited as an Oasis

[bugo]

IN OH and PA have them off the toll roads and I think OK has one overhead like those on the Tri-State and Northwest Tollways

On I-44 near Vinita.  It's a McDonald's.

(for real nerds there is a spot on 88 for one never built. Only Dekalb was ever built)

There's a spot for one on the Muskogee Turnpike that was never built.

[nerdly_dood]

In Virginia, truck stops and similar establishments never have dedicated offramps - generally there's no room for it, so if they find a big enough piece of flat land, they build one alongside an existing secondary road with highway access. There are state-maintained rest stops that were closed during Tim Kaine's admin to save money (the state gov't is losing a lot of money very fast) but the new governor Bob McDonnell ordered them back open, along with a way to pay for their maintenance. (These rest stops are a parking lot, a few walking paths, bathrooms and a few vending machines, no commercial food places or gas stations, those are on secondary roads near offramps)

[3467]

Thanks bugo. I think I stopped there in teh middle of the night back in the 80s

In Illinois they are called Tollway Oasis but elswhere it is service plaza
And in Illinois there have been scadals associated with their contracts

[roadfro]

So it looks like an ordinary truck stop adjacent to an otherwise ordinary Interstate exit...not a separate exit or plaza built for the purpose. I've not seen signing for an Interstate Oasis before, nor heard reference to one that actually existed as such. As mentioned previously, "Service Plaza" and similar facilities exist along tolled highways, but seem to be referred to as such.


Relevant signing regarding Interstate Oases is found in Sec 2I.04 of the 2009 MUTCD. The guidance in that section says that more information can be found at http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/res-policy.htm, which has a link (4th from top) to the 6-page FHWA final rule document that established the policy--full text of the FHWA's Interstate Oasis Policy begins on page 5 of that document.

[corco]

Exactly- I'm trying to figure out where these exist along free highways, but not as separate exits. Obviously there are hundreds of dedicated service plazas/oases on toll roads throughout the state- those aren't interesting.

[roadfro]

Exactly- I'm trying to figure out where these exist along free highways, but not as separate exits.

I'm afraid that won't be easy to determine. The Interstate Oasis program wasn't adopted by FHWA until late 2006, and it is up to each individual state as to whether it will offer the program. Only about 15 state DOTs commented on the draft policy (one of which thought the program was unnecessary), so those are the few that might have adopted a policy and may have signs now.

[J N Winkler]

I actually commented as part of the rulemaking process--I forget precisely what I said but I think it was something along the lines of multiple businesses at an Interstate Oasis being easily recognizable as an unit, plus a call for free wi-fi as a minimum requirement for an Interstate Oasis designation.

FHWA eventually came up with an oasis symbol (which has probably now been incorporated into the MUTCD) but I suspect its usage is optional.

[Sykotyk]

Utah has a few on I-15. They're also, coincidencently enough, Flying J truck stops there, as well. Makes sense, considering Flying J is based out of Ogden and does a ton of business along the I-15 corridor from St. George, UT to Great Falls, MT.

Sykotyk

[roadfro]

FHWA eventually came up with an oasis symbol (which has probably now been incorporated into the MUTCD) but I suspect its usage is optional.

The Interstate Oasis symbol adopted by the 2009 MUTCD is a palm tree.

Guidance (Section 2I.04, paragraph 4) indicates that the symbol sign panel should be used on separate advance signs for interstate oases. A standard in the next paragraph states that the symbol panel is not to be used without the legend "Interstate Oasis".

[CL]

Utah has a few on I-15. They're also, coincidencently enough, Flying J truck stops there, as well. Makes sense, considering Flying J is based out of Ogden and does a ton of business along the I-15 corridor from St. George, UT to Great Falls, MT.

Sykotyk

Is that right? Are they really called oases on signage or are they just the "rest stops in partnership with Chevron" type of signs? I don't recall any "Interstate oasis" signs the last time I went down to central Utah...

[hbelkins]

I actually commented as part of the rulemaking process--I forget precisely what I said but I think it was something along the lines of multiple businesses at an Interstate Oasis being easily recognizable as an unit, plus a call for free wi-fi as a minimum requirement for an Interstate Oasis designation.

FHWA eventually came up with an oasis symbol (which has probably now been incorporated into the MUTCD) but I suspect its usage is optional.

Not even all state-owned rest areas have free wi-fi. And even those that do don't always have strong signals or anyplace to set up with a laptop. I couldn't even connect at the welcome center on I-55 south in Arkansas back in the summer. Had to tether my laptop to my iPhone to get connected to make a motel reservation.

[J N Winkler]

I have now dug up my submission (dated April 28, 2006) to the Interstate Oasis rulemaking process.  Regarding free wi-fi, it reads in pertinent part:

I strongly urge that free wireless Internet access be added to the amenities required to be available at an Interstate Oasis.  Many people already travel with laptops capable of wireless networking, and this number can only be expected to grow dramatically in the future as the real cost of mobile computing drops further in relation to per capita income.  Widespread Internet access is convenient and helpful for people who are travelling and need to reassure family back home that they are safe.  For deaf people particularly, it allows them to access the communications infrastructure on a more equitable basis than is currently possible with payphone TDDs, which (notwithstanding ADA requirements) are only sporadically available at rest areas and similar public facilities.  Currently Texas is rolling out wireless Internet access as part of an ongoing statewide rest area refurbishment program, and this example should be followed nationally.

I added this paragraph because I strongly believe that transport terminals in general, not just rest areas, should have free wi-fi as the modern replacement for payphones.  Also, although the rulemaking documents did not specify it explicitly, I felt that the primary motivation for the Interstate Oasis program was to allow states to close certain rest areas by transferring the stopping traffic to privately owned businesses, not to expand the opportunities for the motoring public to stop.

I was willing to agree to this only on condition that private businesses given an Interstate Oasis designation accept the obligation to provide typical rest-area services (including bathrooms, drinking water, payphones, and--to an increasing extent--free wi-fi) free of charge.  I also felt that, like each rest area, each Interstate Oasis should be identifiable as an unit, so I supported the grant of a single Interstate Oasis designation to multiple businesses close to each other only if the businesses were within easy walking distance of each other and were willing to create a single business entity (such as a joint venture) to which the Interstate Oasis designation could be attributed.

In general, I think we have reached a crossroads nationally in rest area provision on Interstates and states in general will go in one of two directions.  On the one hand they will upgrade their existing rest areas to provide more modern facilities such as free wi-fi, as TxDOT has been doing.  On the other hand they will close rest areas for fiscal reasons.  My personal feeling is that the running cost of providing free wi-fi is insignificant in the larger scheme of things and if a cash-strapped state decides to use Interstate Oases to delegate rest area services to the private sector (regardless of whether free wi-fi is already provided at the rest areas scheduled for closure), I want my interests as a traveler to be protected.

As to why I think free wi-fi is important:

*  I don't have a smartphone myself and have no interest in acquiring one because I have little need for continuous connectivity and the keyboards are too small.  My deaf acquaintances who have them also report horror stories of data-only plans, not being able to get to knowledgeable people in customer service if they want to change plan or raise billing queries, dead zones everywhere they go, dropped connections etc.  These problems plus the monthly cost are all things I can do without.  Wi-fi has its own problems but most free wi-fi systems of whatever vintage will still go back to 802.11b if they have to, wi-fi antenna technology is improving all the time, and wi-fi networks which block port 25 will still allow SSL connections and webmail.

*  I use transport-related wi-fi pretty heavily to advise friends and family of safe arrival and changes in travel schedule.  I have not driven long-distance in the US since wi-fi provision at rest areas became routine, but I can envision myself stopping at rest areas toward the ends of long driving days just to let people know where I am, even if this means squatting on the floor with the laptop running on battery power and balanced on my knees.  (I think free wi-fi should be provided at airports--in the US it tends to be provided only at airports in the sub-5-million-PATM class.  At a large airport like O'Hare, which handles something like 70 million PATMs annually, wi-fi tends to be provided by a concessionaire given a license to gouge.)

[Brandon]

(for real nerds there is a spot on 88 for one never built. Only Dekalb was ever built)

I know of DeKalb, and always found it odd that the East-West Twy only had one Oasis.  Where was the other one supposed to be?  Near Dixon?

[3467]

Dont hold me to this exactly but somewhere near the headquarters near Midwest Road. I remeber finding the spot once. With all the reconstruction it maybe gone. It was near the beginning.
They did have porta potties at Dixon at one point Luxury for us downstate rubes I guess!

Has anyone seen the new structure west of Dekalb near the IPASS?

[Chris]

free wi-fi on rest areas and truck stops is also very convenient for truckers. I really hope we'll see major wi-fi expansion on rest areas, airports, train stations, restaurants, etc. I was on a campsite in Switzerland last year that charged $ 10 per hour to use wi-fi. Such rates are a total non-starter for me. It should be free or included in the price of a campsite, or otherwise be something like $ 2 per hour.