The proposed state budget is looking to shut down seven rest areas in Connecticut.
For people like Robert Cohen, a truck driver from Meriden, the cuts can hurt.
Cohen has been a truck driver for 25 years, moving cars up and down the East Coast and working long hours. On Thursday, NBC Connecticut found him winding down at the Wallingford rest area.
"We have guys that have to get off the road and if we don’t have a spot to park safely were in trouble," said Cohen.
Wallingford is just one of seven rest areas the state is looking to shut. The others include Danbury, Southington, East Willington, West Willington, Stonington and Middletown.
"You close off our seven rest areas and we lose probably 200 to 300 truck spots," said Cohen. "That’s 200 to 300 trucks that will be parked on the shoulder of the road."
These are the same stops the state has already scaled back. They now close overnight, forcing the public to use the port-a-pottys outside.
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"You are subject to now stopping to use a port a potty in the middle of the night. What if it is someone’s wife or daughter?"
Democratic Congressman Antonio Guerrara co-chairs the transportation committee and says he has received numerous constituent complaints about the current state of the rest stops. He worries closing them completely could only increase the problems, but also understands it is a difficult budget and, "everything is on the table right now."
"There has to be a way maybe we can try to resurrect some of these rest areas and were working on it," said Guerrara.
State Senator Toni Boucher said the closures would be a negative reflection of the state.
"We need to have a discussion on the potential of having private sector sponsorships provide the funds to keep them open until the state fixes its problems," Boucher said. "Too many motorists and truck drivers depend on them."
"It is murder to close these," said Cohen. "It is going to cause a giant nightmare safety hazard and there is no place else to go."
