CONNECTIONS

IDAHO
ITD HOME
IDAHO DMV
ITD NEWS
HIGHWAY SAFETY
IDAHO STATE POLICE
TRAVEL SERVICES
STATE OF IDAHO

NATIONAL
AASHTO
AAMVA
AAA of IDAHO
FEDERAL HIGHWAYS
FEDERAL AVIATION
IDAHO STATE POLICE
NHTSA
NTSB
TRB
U.S. DOT

 

Idaho Transportation
Department
Public Affairs Office
P.O. Box 7129
Boise, ID 83707
208.334.8005
Fax: 208.334.8563
Email


Oasis program provides rest for road weary,
through public/private partnership

ITD will partner with Flying J Corp. to provide travelers along Interstate 15 a new opportunity to safely stop and rest in McCammon as part of the federal government’s Interstate Oasis program.

As part of the Oasis partnership agreement, ITD will provide the Flying J Corp. $328,000 and signing along the interstate at the corporation’s new site in McCammon. In exchange, Fying J agrees to provide a free public rest area that will be built and maintained to ITD standards at its new store, according to Ed Bala, District 5 engineer.

“By entering into this partnership we can close the existing rest area at Inkom, which is about 12 miles from McCammon,” Bala said. “This also means we won’t have to rebuild the existing rest area in 2012, at a cost of $14 million.

“The monetary part of the agreement is fully “federal aid” reimbursable,” he said, adding that the Utah Department of Transportation already has a number of similar public/private agreements.

“Dave Jones was really instrumental in setting this up,” Bala said. “He heard about the UDOT program, conducted quite a bit of research and proposed this program for Idaho. District 5 got lucky, because Flying J is building a new site at the McCammon interchange.”

At its October meeting, the ITD Board encouraged expansion of the Oasis program to as many sites as possible.

The federal program was designed to enhance safety and convenience for interstate highway users. It allows states to designate and provide signing to eligible facilities off the freeway that provide products and services to the public, 24-hour access to public restrooms, and rest area-type parking for automobiles and heavy trucks.

To qualify for designation and signing as an Interstate Oasis, a facility must meet specific criteria:

  • A facility shall be no more than three miles from an interstate highway interchange except for sparsely developed rural areas where eligible facilities may not available. A lesser distance may also be required when a state’s laws impose restrictions on truck travel;
  • Access routes can safely and conveniently accommodate vehicles of the types, sizes and weights that would be regularly using this type of facility;
  • Provide a physical layout that includes safe entry and exit points to the site, on-site traffic circulation and parking areas for all vehicles, including heavy trucks;
  • Maintain modern, sanitary restrooms with free drinking water that are available to the public at all times;
  • Provide a sufficient number of well lighted parking spaces for automobiles and heavy trucks that are available at no charge or obligation for parking durations of up to 10 hours or longer;
  • Offer products and services that include a public telephone and food, as well as motor vehicle fuel, oil and water;
  • Staffed by at least one person at all times.

In cases where no single business near an interchange meets all the eligibility requirements, a state may allow the criteria to be satisfied by a combination of two or more businesses located adjacent to each other and easily accessible on foot from each other’s parking lots.

The legislation was included in the Federal Highway Administration’s 2005 SAFETEA-LU highway bill and signed into law in August 2005

.

Published 11-3-06