Signs and barriers alert drivers to the closing of an Interstate 64 rest stop near Richmond last summer. Steve Helber / ASSOCIATED PRESS Visit the Photo Place

On the road, but no place to 'go'

Date published: 11/10/2009

BY CAROLE FELDMAN

ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

NORLINA, N.C.

Driving from their home in Glendora, N.J., to North Carolina, the Van Arts wanted to stop at a rest area on Interstate 85 in Virginia, but it was closed because of state budget cuts. Exiting the highway, they headed for a fast food restaurant--only to discover that it was the same one they had stopped at during an earlier trip and found dirty. It was back to the highway in search of a rest area.

"Rest areas are definitely cleaner," Barbara Van Art said, as they stood by their car and talked at the North Carolina Welcome Center, near the border with Virginia.

But rest areas may also be harder to find than in the past.

SHUTTING THEM DOWN

Several states have shuttered rest areas because of financial woes. Some say they're no longer necessary with the growth of fast food restaurants, gas stations and other facilities at interstate interchanges.

Try telling that to a family with a crying child who has to go the bathroom. Or to a driver who feels drowsy. Or to a dog owner whose pet needs to be walked.

"In a way, rest areas are something that have been taken for granted and are just there," said Joanna Dowling, a cultural historian who researches rest areas and has a Web site called RestArea History.org. "They have become this natural essential part of American travel."

And when they're closed, people take notice.

This summer, Georgia closed two rest areas on Interstate 85 not too far from Atlanta. The state is considering whether to shutter others, or cut back hours of operation.

"We've just got significant budget deficits and are trying to find ways to save money," said David Spears, press secretary for the Georgia Department of Transportation. The annual savings: $300,000 for each closed rest area, he said.

Spears said the growth of private businesses in urban areas have made rest areas somewhat duplicative. "Certainly in rural parts of the state, there's still a need for them," he said.

Georgia is not alone in looking at rest areas for potential cost savings.

In October, the Arizona Department of Transportation closed 13 rest areas, citing a $100 million budget shortfall.

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Date published: 11/10/2009