That service area will also have a McDonald’s and EZ-Go, he said.

In addition, both new service areas will have about 125 semi-truck parking spaces.

The current service area in Stroud has about 75 semi parking spaces for both directions of traffic. The new spaces will more than triple the current truck parking available at the Stroud service area.

Damrill said he was driving west to Oklahoma City on the turnpike on a recent late night and went through the Stroud service area.

“There were (semi) trucks parked on the entry ramp. They were parked on the exit ramp. It was a mess,” he said.

The OTA approved the projects last year. They are part of its capital plan, Damrill said.

An exact timetable of when the changes will take effect has not yet been set, but work on the new service area in Chandler has already begun.

The new Chandler service area will cost about $9.5 million (not including the vendor’s cost for the building and adjacent parking), and the new Stroud area’s preliminary cost is about $6.5 million (with plans at 50%), he said. Funding is coming from tolls.