NEWARK, NJ - In a piece unsympathetic to the convenience and petroleum retailing industry, a Star-Ledger article earlier this week painted the federal law that prohibits rest area commercialization as antiquated and having long served its purpose to the detriment of road-weary travelers.

The piece opens by addressing how states are increasingly shuttering rest areas in an effort to close budget deficits. Arizona closed 13 of its rest areas last fall, and Colorado, Georgia, Louisiana, Maine, Vermont and Virginia have also closed restrooms, actions which have prompted some state lawmakers to question the 54-year old federal law that prohibits commercializing rest areas.

"I??d like to see a state with enough guts to stand up to a stupid law and ignore it," said Ronald Utt, who conducts research on transportation for the Heritage Foundation.

New Jersey last closed a rest area in 2006. However, the lone stop along Route 80 is scheduled to offer limited services beginning in January, and New Jersey transportation commissioner Jim Simpson said that he is exploring ways to maintain services at the center, such as having companies like Dunkin?? Donuts or Starbucks maintain the rest areas and pay rent to the state.

"We??re trying to be creative and do something that??s a positive," Simpson said, conceding that such a move would conflict with the federal law prohibiting privatizing rest areas.

The article was lax in presenting the investments that thousands of small businesses made during construction of interstate highways in the 1950s. Read more about this issue at the NACS issue page.