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As fuel prices continue to hover above the $4 mark, truck drivers without APUs are seeking cost-effective options instead of idling. They are looking for truck stops and rest areas where they can plug in and take their 10-hour breaks.

Recently, two rest areas on Interstate 95 in Milford, CT, reopened after being closed for a little over two years.

Rig Rest of Enfield, CT, has the contract to provide truck stop electrification (TSE) services at 13 of the state’s 23 rest areas that are being redeveloped by Project Service LLC, which has a 35-year public-private partnership with the State of Connecticut.

However, when the northbound site at Milford recently opened, truck drivers were unable to use the Rig Rest services at four of the 10 spaces because of the way they were designed.

“We think the contractor mismeasured something. They were supposed to put them 70 feet from the back of the truck and they put them at 90 feet,” Rig Rest CEO Paul Gelinas told Land Line on Wednesday, April 25.

Dave Casanova of Hamden, CT, discovered the design flaw when he tried to pull in and park at the northbound site to use the Rig Rest service. He then called Gelinas, who met him at the site a few days later about possible solutions to fix the problem.

“I showed him the problems with drivers trying to access their equipment and that it was going to get damaged quickly by drivers trying to pull in and use his services,” Casanova said.

Gelinas said that two of the units at the northbound site had already been damaged, but not by truckers.

Originally, the fix was to add a hose at the four machines so that drivers could still hook up to Rig Rest services. However, after meeting with contractors at the site, Gelinas said the decision was made to make a more permanent fix by flipping the machines so that drivers could hook up to the units on the passenger side.

“We decided that installing longer hoses was a short-term fix and could create more problems, so we decided to fix them the right way no matter the cost,” he said. “We decided that we aren’t waiting around to get quotes or bids; we are just going to get it done.”

On Friday, April 27, Casanova said he stopped at the Milford rest areas and confirmed that work was being completed to fix the problems with the positioning of the Rig Rest machines.

“The northbound units are hooked up and usable,” he said.

The southbound rest area opened about a week ago. That site also features 10 Rig Rest machines. Gelinas said that only two of the machines were affected by the design problem, but that all of the spots will be usable within a few days.

He said the cost to use Rig Rest services will be $2.50 per hour. Gelinas said the machines feature heat or air conditioning, high-speed Internet and four power outlets.

Going forward, Gelinas said Rig Rest’s construction projects at 11 other rest areas in Connecticut will reflect the new design changes.

“We have learned some lessons that will be easy to change to make sure there are no mess-ups in the future,” he said.

By Clarissa Kell-Holland, Land Line Magazine staff writer