TROUTVILLE, Va. – A Troutville weigh station along I-81 is closed for truck driver parking overnight. According to a DMV spokesperson, they’ve had to stop allowing parking in the lot due to an increase in trash.
Trucker Terry Hilton is making his way up the highway, and by the end of the week, he’ll be in Oklahoma.
Hilton said one of the challenges of his job is just finding a place to rest.
“After 6′oclock it gets pretty rough sometimes,” Hilton said. “If you don’t get an early start on parking, sometimes it’s hard to find it.”
Since the Troutville weigh station doesn’t allow parking anymore, there’s one less spot for Hilton to pull over at nowadays.
“As much as we’ve been pleased to offer this service to truck drivers passing through our Stephens City and Troutville weigh stations, we are no longer able to provide it due to increasing incidents of littering, vandalism and unsanitary practices,” said Brandy Brubaker, DMV spokesperson.
The policy is enforced by Virginia State Police, so that means Hilton has to keep moving if he can’t find a spot.
“Just go on up the road and hopefully I can find one,” Hilton said. “If not, pull over somewhere on the side. But my company doesn’t really want us pulling over on the side of the road, because it’s pretty dangerous nowadays.”
Not too far away, there is another option. A VDOT spokesperson said the rest area at mile marker 158 on I-81 just reopened in December and has 12 new parking spots for truckers.
Even still, trucker Tracy Wilson said there needs to be more space.
“They will be lined out there where you merge onto the interstate,” Wilson said.
VDOT spokesperson Jason Bond said there’s an I-81 truck parking task force that’s part of the Corridor Improvement Program.
The task force does truck surveys and identifies areas along the corridor for parking, but Bond’s not aware of any immediate projects planned.