“NO SEMI-TRUCKS IN REST AREA,” reads a sign posted at the entrance to the State of Wyoming Visitor Center along Interstate 80 in Evanston — but just beyond it, semi-trucks keep showing up.
Over the weekend, an Evanston resident counted five parked there at once and posted photos to a local Facebook group with a blunt observation.
“This is bound to stir the pot,” he wrote. “Counted 5 semis up in the visitor center lot. I guess they can’t read or just don’t give a f--k what the sign says.”
Stir the pot it did.
Two days later, the post was still stewing, with more than 360 comments. But rather than piling on the truckers, hundreds of commenters came to their defense.
One said that as long as the drivers weren’t causing problems or damaging anything, she’d rather see them parked there “than be sleepy on the road.”
Another wrote "You need to give us truckers a break. We don't have the luxury of going home every night and sleeping in our bed."
"They can stop trucking and you can starve, a*shole. Show some godd*mn respect" harped another.
The argument unfolding online is one Evanston has been having for years.
There aren’t always enough places for semi-trucks to park around the southwest Wyoming community, a shortage that can turn into a crush whenever I-80 closes.
This time, however, I-80 was open, which brings to light a new wrinkle: Wyoming is spending about $40 million to dramatically expand truck parking east of Evanston, but while that solution is being built, both existing state truck-parking areas near the Bear River exit are temporarily closed.
‘Wherever They Can’
The parking problem is serious enough that the Wyoming Department of Transportation commissioned an Evanston truck parking study in 2022 after repeated I-80 closures strained the community.
“Trucks currently park on the interstate and navigate through the City to park on local roads, at local businesses, and wherever they can to wait out the closure,” the study’s scope of work says.
That creates problems ranging from overwhelmed local streets and business parking lots to litter and safety concerns for law enforcement.
The study helped Wyoming secure more than $26.6 million through the federal Rural Surface Transportation Grant program toward construction of roughly 365 truck parking spaces along I-80 near Evanston.
This spring, the Wyoming Transportation Commission awarded Utah-based Whitaker Construction Co. Inc. a roughly $40 million contract for the project. Work began in July and is scheduled to be completed Oct. 31, 2028.
Building the long-term solution, however, has temporarily made an already tight parking situation tighter.
Building The Fix
Both the eastbound and westbound truck parking areas at mile marker 6 near the Bear River exit closed July 13 for construction.
They aren’t scheduled to reopen until Halloween, when construction shuts down for the winter.
For now, that leaves two established state truck-parking areas unavailable.
Tammy Staley, executive director of the Evanston Chamber of Commerce, told Cowboy State Daily there is “definitely a lack of parking for semi-trailers here in Evanston,” particularly during winter.
When I-80 closes, drivers have limited options for safely parking while waiting for the highway to reopen. Trucks wind up along streets, in turning lanes, at Walmart and anywhere else drivers can find room, she said.
“There simply aren’t enough designated parking spaces available when the interstate is closed,” Staley said.
That can frustrate people who live in Evanston, but Staley doesn’t necessarily blame the people behind the wheel.
“From what I have observed, the truck drivers are dealing with a situation they have no control over because there simply aren't enough designated parking spaces available when the interstate is closed,” she said.
Staley said the expansion should ultimately benefit both drivers and the community.
“The new truck parking expansion project will alleviate this problem,” she said.
Clock Keeps Ticking
For truck drivers, finding somewhere to park isn't always as simple as continuing down the highway until an empty space appears.
Bart Richardson, safety manager for Admiral Transport Corp. in Worland and a past chairman of the Wyoming Trucking Association, said federal limits on driving hours mean truckers have only so much time to find somewhere safe to stop.
“Once they get there and there’s no parking, well, they have to find a safe place to park,” Richardson said.
Federal rules generally limit property-carrying commercial drivers to 11 hours of driving after 10 consecutive hours off duty, with that driving occurring within a 14-hour window after coming on duty.
That means the parking shortage isn't merely an inconvenience. Drivers have to plan where their day will end, and the available options don't always match the number of trucks looking for them.
“There’s not enough parking to manage the flow of trucks across the interstate,” Richardson said.
The problem becomes particularly visible when Wyoming weather shuts down I-80.
As parking fills in communities along the interstate, Wyoming can use rolling closures to hold traffic farther back and prevent towns closer to the closure from becoming overwhelmed.
“None of those towns have the appropriate number of parking locations to manage inclement weather when the freeways are shut down,” Richardson said.
‘A Real Mess’
The massive Evanston parking project wasn't universally welcomed when plans for hundreds of spaces became public in late 2023.
City Councilman Jesse Lind told Cowboy State Daily in earlier reporting that Evanston is Wyoming’s “front door” and shouldn't be treated as though it were merely a truck stop. Councilwoman Jennie Hegeman questioned whether the parking problem justified a project of that size when Evanston had other needs.
Others who watched trucks pour into town during I-80 closures said the need was obvious.
Brian Baker, then general manager of Evanston’s Pilot truck stop, said closures push trucks into turning lanes and onto roadsides, creating “a real mess.”
Uinta County Commission Chairman Mark Anderson said trucks can overwhelm side roads and frontage roads and even block businesses.
“You can’t even imagine what happens here when I-80 closes,” Anderson said. “It is insane.”
Mayor Kent Williams said the drivers are just as frustrated as everyone else because "they’re in those big semis trying to find a place to park and there is no place."
Limited Parking
Evanston is a particularly visible example of a much larger shortage.
Nationally, the American Trucking Associations estimates there is roughly one truck parking space for every 11 drivers.
Richardson said the current administration has recognized the shortage and put a renewed emphasis on expanding truck parking, which the industry has pushed for nationally for years. But adding spaces takes time.
This summer, WYDOT received another federal grant to develop a statewide Winter Truck Parking Action Plan aimed at determining where commercial trucks can be accommodated during prolonged winter highway closures.
The hundreds of spaces planned east of town should eventually relieve some of the pressure, but the project isn't scheduled for completion until October 2028.
For now, truckers still have to find somewhere to stop tonight, tomorrow and through the Wyoming winters between now and then.
Kolby Fedore can be reached at kolby@cowboystatedaily.com.
