Truck drivers waiting for Whitewater Rest Area to reopen

UPDATE: 6:37 p.m.

For 15 years, Ernesto Gutierrez has spent his days behind the wheel of his rig, traveling back and forth from Reno, Nevada.

“My father was a trucker, my grandpa was a trucker and it kind of runs in the family,” Gutierrez said. “It’s a tough lifestyle leaving the wife and kids at home, and leaving for days and weeks at a time.”

But he said lately, he’s had to shift gears when deciding where to stop for rest when it came to the Whitewater rest area.

“When you’re traveling up and down Interstate 10, and you’re getting sleepy or tired, or whatever the case is, Whitewater used to be a good place for us to be able to pull in and get a good night’s sleep, (and) get the rest that they need. But unfortunately when they closed it, they took that opportunity away.”

Caltrans officials said the rest area along Interstate 10 has dealt with recent maintenance issues mainly with its water pump, which they said at one point led them to shut down the rest stop for a year and a half.

“Every time we tried to do repairs on the pump and get it going again, it would go down, or it wasn’t pumping the water at the capacity that it needed to,” Caltrans District 8 Chief Public Information Officer Terri Kasinga said. “And under state and federal guidelines, we are unable to open rest areas to the public, unless the water is testing at a certain level to make it safe for them to utilize on their hands or even drink.”

After reopening early last year, Caltrans officials said crews had to close the rest area again late last fall, after the water pump was re-damaged.

But Kasinga said she’s hopeful crews will open the rest area soon.

“Sometimes it takes time,” Kasinga said. “We feel for them. We understand the inconvenience, (and) the aspects for the truckers and the safety issue. But at the same time, we can’t legally reopen a rest area that’s in disrepair.”

While Gutierrez hopes he can find a safe place to rest while on the road.

“We need these spaces to park our rigs and get a good night’s sleep,” Gutierrez said. “As a matter of fact, I’ll challenge the state of California to open up more rest areas, and give us the ability to park our rigs and get a good night’s, safe night’s sleep.”

Kasinga said the water pump would cost $70,000 dollars if it needed to be replaced.

She said Caltrans is waiting to hear back from the pump’s manufacturer as to whether it can be repaired, or needs to be replaced.

She said crews are unsure of when the rest area will open again.

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ORIGINAL STORY: 1:39 p.m.

Sporadic, and often long-lasting closures of the Whitewater Rest Area, have kept many truck drivers on the I-10 freeway for longer amounts of time than they would prefer. Many truck drivers KESQ and CBS Local 2 spoke to on Thursday have been patiently awaiting for the rest area to reopen after recent repairs.

Zak Dahlheimer spoke to truck drivers and officials with Caltrans on Thursday afternoon to hear more details about the repair project and when commuters can expect to see the rest area back open in Whitewater.

Watch our full report Thursday on KESQ News Channel 3 at 6 p.m. and on CBS Local 2 at 6:30 p.m.

Whitewater Rest Area reopens after long closure – March, 2014