Rest Stops: The Case for Interstate Commerce

Nossaman Partner and Infrastructure Co-Chair Geoffrey S. Yarema is quoted in the Congressional Quarterly article, "Rest Stops:  The Case for Interstate Commerce." The article discusses requests from a number of state governments that Congress repeal a 50-year old ban on privately run rest stop areas along federal highways.

Mr. Yarema, who served on the National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission, said, "The policies that we have today relating to our interstate rest areas were written for a different time. It's appropriate in 2010 to kind of re-look at those policies to see if there's a more sophisticated approach."

Leasing rest areas to commercial operators has become more appealing to revenue-strapped states, some of which have been forced to close rest areas entirely due to budget concerns. Opposing such a move are exit-based retailers. The debate is likely to heat up as Congress faces reauthorization of the surface transportation bill next year.