The South Carolina Department of Transportation recently announced plans to open seven new rest areas for truck drivers in an effort to improve highway safety.

The sites are for commercial vehicle use only and should have between 12 and 16 truck parking spaces in each location. One of the areas will be along I-20 in Aiken County around mile marker 20. The new areas, which should open in early April, will be in the same non-facility rest areas closed in 2001.

The present South Carolina Welcome Center along I-20 at the Georgia-South Carolina state line is usually packed with trucks every night and will continue to stay open, according to WRCW-TV.

The money for the new areas, about $723,000, was approved in the state budget, the station said.