WASHINGTON — Drivers on toll roads in the East can find a place to eat or fill up on gas without getting off the highway.
Throughout most of the rest of the country, however, federal law says that motorists in search of a hot meal and fuel must exit the interstate. All that is available at the interstates' own rest areas are restrooms, picnic tables and, sometimes, vending machines.
Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Calif., is pressing to change the law and create a pilot program of gas stations and burger joints along some sections of interstates in California.
He is running into strong opposition from owners of truck stops, gas stations and fast food restaurants off the interstates at interchanges with other highways.
A trade group representing more than 1,100 truck stops is lobbying to keep interstates free of gas stations and fast food stops. The group cites a University of Maryland study showing that businesses at interchanges would lose two-thirds of sales if they faced competition from "ultra-convenient" rest areas.
Lewis' effort is a reaction to what he says are unsafe and unsanitary conditions at some California rest areas.
"I believe the state should do what it can to fix this problem," Lewis said.
The nation's interstate system, conceived during the Dwight D. Eisenhower administration in the 1950s, is a network of toll-free roads built with federal money. Generally, services are available on smaller roads that cross the interstates. Some older roads that were incorporated into the interstate system, including I-95 in Connecticut, have roadside services.
On some turnpikes and other toll roads, different rules apply. Cars, trucks and buses often jam the food and gas outlets at rest stops — sometimes built in a wide median area — that thrive on what is essentially a captive audience.
States, or the independent agencies that run the toll roads, sign contracts with proprietors. For example, the New York State Thruway Authority last year received $10.7 million from the Marriott and McDonald's corporations as a percentage of sales at the 27 travel plazas on the 641-mile thruway, authority spokesman Terry O'Brien said.
Lewis' proposal would open no more than 10 California areas to commercial development for no more than 10 years. But Rep. JoAnn Emerson, R-Mo., fears it could open the door to similar development in other states and that rural communities dependent on business from travelers who exit interstates for services would be harmed.
Emerson also believes motorists could be charged high prices because roadside rest areas have no direct competition. "You've got one choice," she said.
Those who operate businesses catering to interstate motorists also see Lewis' plan as a threat.
"It will be hard to compete against a state-picked business that would have a monopoly at favorable rates," said Jim Caldwell, who recently pumped $5.5 million into his Giant Truck Stops on I-5in Castaic, Calif., north of Los Angeles.
Lewis, a member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, is trying to put his proposal in the annual transportation spending legislation. The House and Senate each has passed a version of the bill. Negotiators, including Emerson, are working to resolve their differences.
Lewis said if his plan is adopted, he hopes California officials would choose rest areas in the most remote areas, far away from existing businesses.
That is not good enough for Caldwell, who tries to lure travelers to his operation with Internet access, showers, gas, diesel fuel and Popeye's chicken.
"It doesn't really matter which rest areas the state chooses," Caldwell said. "Our competition for truck business is in a radius of 500 miles."