PI: Ali Shamshiripour, Ph.D.
Co-PI: Cortez W. Smith, Wooyoung Jung, Price V. Fishback, Yao-Jan Wu, Ph.D., P.E
Sponsor: Arizona DOT - Arizona Transportation Institute (ADOT-AZTI)
Aug. 2025 - Oct. 2026
Since 1950s, the commercialization of rest areas along the U.S. interstate highways emerged as a pivotal opportunity in transportation infrastructure planning. This opportunity has been found to sustainably generate considerable revenue streams for many state governments across the nation (FHWA, 2023). Ohio’s Turnpike service plazas, for example, generated a concession revenue of $17.7 million for the state in 2024, indicating a 12% increase from 2023 (Ohio Auditor of State, 2025). As another success example, a modern Welcome Center that was built in Delaware in 2010 near I-95 at no cost to the state, under a public-private partnership (P3) agreement, generates at least $1.6 million per year for 35 years
(from the start of the contract) (Eaves, 2010). However, despite its focal importance, the opportunity remains simply unrealized to large extent in Arizona due to legal constraints. Addressing such a complex and high-stakes opportunity demands a research design that is as multi-faceted as the challenge itself. Commercialization of rest areas intersects with transportation engineering, behavioral economics, P3 structures, architectural feasibility, and regulatory policy—necessitating a carefully coordinated, interdisciplinary response.