Truckers are feeling the “Love’s” as the Travel Stop giant opens its first-ever location in Willington, Connecticut, adding 56 overnight parking spaces for the women and men who deliver America’s goods and materials.
The New England state hasn’t shown much love — or any for that matter — in recent years. State lawmakers and Gov. Ned Lamont snubbed truckers when they announced a gas tax holiday, but no reprieve on diesel. The governor recently touted a new law that mirrors California’s stringent truck emissions standards and takes older diesel trucks off the registration rolls. But at least truckers will enjoy a new safe haven during the off-duty hours at Exit 71 on I-84 in Tolland County.
“Opening our first location in Connecticut reaffirms Love’s commitment to providing quality products and services that are easy to access for customers across the U.S.,” Love’s co-founder Greg Love reportedly said. “ Love’s will continue to add new locations, ensuring that travelers have a safe, clean and well-maintained place to stop when they see the Heart of the Highway.”
Love’s operates 590 Travel Stops and Country stores across 41 states that have been a boon for weary truckers. Open 24 hours a day, professional drivers have access to food, diesel, restaurants, and heavy-duty tire care, among other amenities. Adding overnight parking helps solve a national issue that leaves too many truckers in unlit lots and unsafe places. The recent I-84 Travel Stop reportedly offers the following.
- More than 8,000 square feet.
- Godfather’s Pizza and Subway.
- 56 truck parking spaces.
- 50 car parking spaces.
- Three RV parking spaces.
- Seven diesel bays.
- Three showers.
- CAT scale.
- Bean-to-cup gourmet coffee.
- Brand-name snacks.
- Fresh Kitchen concept.
- Mobile to Go Zone with the latest GPS, headsets and smartphone accessories.
- Dog park.
In Congress, the Truck Parking Safety Improvement Act would provide $755 million in grants over four years to expand truck parking capacity. The legislation recently made it out of committee and members of the U.S. House of Representatives appear optimistic the funding will gain full approval by year’s end.
There are 313,000 truck parking spaces in the U.S. and only 40,000 are located in public rest areas. The remaining 273,000 are at private facilities such as Love’s, according to a 2020 Federal Highway Administration report. There are approximately 2 million heavy and tractor-trailer drivers in the U.S., according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Love’s set a goal to establish upwards of 3,000 parking spots by the close of 2022 to address the unreasonable situation. The company is also investing in technology to help truckers find safe parking spaces on interstates across the country.
“Love’s continues to add amenities and services that serve its core customer, the professional truck driver. The company realizes the need for more parking spaces for drivers, and it will continue to add spots to new and existing locations to meet that need,” Love’s stated in a press release.
Sources:
https://www.loves.com/en/news/2022/july/loves-travel-stops-opens-first-location-in-connecticut
https://www.cspdailynews.com/company-news/loves-connects-connecticut
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/755-million-truck-parking-bill-advances-in-house
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