Montana Building New I-90 Rest Area to Expand Truck Parking

The Hardin rest area restoration is expected to be completed in May and will have 58 truck parking stalls. (Dick Anderson Construction)

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Montana State Department of Transportation is refurbishing a pair of eastbound and westbound rest areas on Interstate 90 near Billings to increase truck parking, add a new weigh station and enhance security.

MDT spokesperson Sloane Stinson said the Hardin Rest Area restoration project is slated for completion in May and will have 58 truck parking stalls. It is located between Hardin and Billings.

She told Transport Topics that the building team involving Dick Anderson Construction, WGM Group and CWG Architecture is “making strong progress” on various aspects of the construction project that includes multiple structures such as main buildings, picnic shelters and utility buildings for both sites.

The project, which started this spring, will focus first on creating the westbound rest area site. In May, both older structures were demolished, enabling workers to start pouring concrete for the footings for the buildings. By July, new sidewalks and curbs were completed at the westbound site as crews turned to constructing the main building. MDT acknowledges the project’s timeline could be delayed due to unforeseen weather and availability of materials.

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Montana Department of Transportation

Truck parking stalls at the westbound site will total 30 spaces alongside 22 standard vehicle parking areas. The new eastbound site will have 28 truck stalls and parking slots for 21 passenger vehicles.

Other improvements will include bathrooms compliant to be accessible for people with disabilities, a fenced pet area, picnic areas with shelters and drought-tolerant landscaping.

Safety features for travelers will include extra lighting throughout both sites, including along highway entry/exit ramps and video surveillance.

MDT is adding a Motor Carrier Services weigh station to the westbound area as a “Type A” facility designed with an open/closed sign and a safe area away from traffic. The location chosen will enable motor carrier officers and state highway patrol troopers to pull over trucks for safety inspections and check commercial vehicle weights.

The new weigh station will have lighting installed to enable nighttime enforcement work, but will not have a permanent building or platform scale.

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Wyoming Department of Transportation

Montana has been improving its I-90 rest areas since that interstate and I-15 together form the state’s top critical highway freight corridors. Trucks carry some $51 billion in goods annually in Montana, according to MDT’s freight plan for 2022. “In 2020, commercial vehicles traveled 3.35 million vehicle miles daily in Montana. Freight transportation by truck is forecast to grow the most, out of all modes, by 2050,” the freight plan predicted. “Highways and trucking are the backbone of the freight transportation system in Montana, moving 61% of freight by value and 35% by weight.”

In April, MDT opened up its revamped Headwaters Rest Area near Three Forks on U.S. Route 287 near the I-90 interchange. The renovated rest area offers 35 truck parking spaces. The Headwaters Rest Area has a law enforcement office available for use by the sheriff and state police officers as well as MDT Motor Carrier Services.

“Consistent with current trends, I-90 will continue to remain the dominant route for truck movements in Montana as well as experience the largest increase in annual truck trips, by 2050,” according to the state freight plan.