Beginning March 2, both the northbound and southbound I-71 rest areas in Brunswick Hills Township, Medina County, will close as crews move in to tear down the aging facilities and turn the sites into truck-only parking. The southbound lot will jump from about 20 spaces to roughly 66, while the northbound lot will grow from about 10 to 29. Work is expected to include new lighting and a new restroom, and the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) estimates the Medina conversion will cost roughly $6.8 million.
ODOT: conversion will improve safety
As reported by Cleveland.com, ODOT District 3 Deputy Director Bob Weaver said there are other rest areas within 30 miles of the Medina sites and that bringing those facilities up to modern standards would have required a significant investment. Converting the Medina locations to truck parking instead, he said, "will help to improve safety for all motorists along the I-71 corridor."
Officials also note that roughly 3,000 trucks pass this stretch of I-71 each day, a traffic load ODOT cited when picking locations for conversion. In short, the state is betting that more organized truck parking here means fewer rigs hunting for spots along the highway shoulder.
Part of a statewide truck‑parking push
The Medina overhaul is one piece of a much bigger puzzle: a $150 million initiative that Gov. Mike DeWine and ODOT rolled out in July 2025 to add at least 1,400 truck-parking spaces at 33 state-owned sites, according to Trucking Dive. The program is set to create or expand long-term truck parking at rest areas, weigh stations and selected interchanges and aims to more than double ODOT-managed truck parking capacity by 2027.
Why more parking matters
Commercial truck drivers are limited by federal hours-of-service rules, which allow them to drive up to 11 hours within a 14-hour on-duty window and then require at least 10 consecutive hours off before they can drive again, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Those rules make reliable access to safe, legal parking essential.
Trucking groups and state officials say that when legal parking fills up, drivers may end up in unauthorized spots or feel pressure to push their hours. That can raise safety risks on busy corridors like I-71, where tired drivers and improvised parking are not exactly a winning combination.
Local timeline and what to expect
ODOT says demolition and site preparation at the Medina rest areas will begin March 2, and motorists should plan for intermittent closures and work-zone traffic controls in the immediate area, according to Cleveland.com. The project will include upgraded lighting, restroom facilities and formal striping for clearly marked truck stalls.
Construction contracts for other locations in the statewide truck-parking program are expected to roll out over the course of this year, as the state works through design and scheduling on dozens of sites.
Next steps and parking during construction
State lawmakers have tried to cushion the impact on drivers. In the latest transportation budget, they added an amendment asking that parking at closed or renovated rest areas remain available to truckers whenever possible, a measure that local leaders say should soften the blow while construction is underway, according to News 5 Cleveland.
ODOT has already moved several projects into design and environmental review and says it will advertise construction bids in the coming months as it works toward wrapping up many of the new and expanded truck-parking sites by 2027.
