Truck stop safety effort gets boost in D.C.

SCHODACK -- A year after a crowd of truckers braved freezing temperatures to protest the closing of an I-90 rest stop, a truck stop safety measure has cleared a U.S. Senate committee that could provide funds to reopen the facility.

To save money the state closed the westbound Interstate 90 rest area just past Exit 12, as well as two on the Northway in Essex County and two on I-88 in Otsego County.

The closures, which took effect Dec. 1, prompted truckers and their supporters to stage protests before the deadline, arguing the stops were needed for the trucker's safety.

Supporters lobbied to get stops they argued were safe havens reopened and improved and this week Sens. Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand (both D-N.Y.) announced that "Jason's Law," a measure to increase security and improve conditions at truck stops across the country, is included in the Environment and Public Works Committee's Transportation Reauthorization bill. Times Union