The first phase of what its developer says will be the country’s largest truck stop is to open next month off Interstate 90 in West Dundee.
Outpost, an Austin, Texas-based company, is transforming 30 acres at 70 Airport Road into a location where 1,000 semi trucks can park in a safe, secure setting, said Trent Cameron, the company’s co-founder and CEO.
“We are solving a really big need. It’s important for drivers to have places like this,” Cameron said.
When it opens Oct. 1, the number of parking spaces will exceed the 900 available at the Iowa 80 Truckstop in Walcott, Iowa, which bills itself as the world’s largest truck stop, in part because of the restaurants, stores, truck dealership, movie theater, repair shop and other service businesses spread out over its 220 acres, according to its website.
As Cameron noted, there’s a need for more truck parking. A report done by the American Trucking Association found there is one parking space for every 11 trucks on the road and many drivers spend nearly an hour every day trying to find a place where they can stop, resulting in about 12% lost pay annually.
Beyond that, truck drivers waste a lot of fuel searching for parking and often are forced to park in unsafe and unauthorized locations, the association report said.
“Truck parking is essential infrastructure for our supply chain and the U.S. economy, no different from roads and bridges,” Cameron said. “The first step toward that future is building a nationwide network of outposts for truck parking.”
Drivers or their employers will be able to lease spaces at the West Dundee site, which by next spring will include a large store, fuel pumps, office space and other features, he said. There will be 24/7 onsite security, bright lighting, gates and fences to ensure drivers and their loads are protected.
“Our goal is to get those trucks off the ramps and get them somewhere safe,” Cameron said. “This is going to have a ton of amenities. It’s really a one-of-a-kind offering we’re bringing to the Chicago area.”
Outpost is planning to spend $500 million to expand its nationwide network of truck yards, which currently consists of 10,000 parking spaces at more than 20 locations, according to information provided by the company. An estimated 3.5 million parking spots are needed if every driver on the road is to be accommodated.
Finding enough space for large fleet yards, like the one in West Dundee, can be tough, Cameron said. The yards often don’t fit standard zoning ordinances and therefore require the company to obtain variances and permits, he said.
Municipalities often don’t always want 18-wheelers traveling through their community, with the public acknowledging the problem but taking a “not in my backyard stance,” he said.
“You need a lot of things to go your way,” he said.
West Dundee’s proximity to both I-90 and the Chicago freight industry, including hundreds of storage warehouses where goods are dropped off or picked up, makes it a key location, Cameron said.
“We’re thrilled to have Outpost come into the Chicago market,” he said. “We see it as the center of the freight universe and we are really excited to see it all coming to fruition.”
Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.