The eastbound and westbound Interstate 44 rest areas near Halltown (mile marker 50) between Springfield and Joplin, will close Wednesday, May 29, 2013, according to an announcement by the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDot).

During the closing, a contractor will tear down the rest area buildings and remove the picnic shelters and picnic tables.

When the facility reopens at the end of August 2013, it will be a truck parking facility with minimal restroom facilities, ie. waterless, self-contained "vault" toilets similar to the restrooms found in the former Doolittle Rest Area west of Rolla and in some Missouri state parks.

To keep the Halltown facility functioning as a full-blown rest area, MoDOT would be required under federal environmental regulations to make expensive upgrades to the water and sewer systems. With MoDOT revenues continuing to decline, MoDOT officials decided that money required to modernize the Halltown Rest Area and then maintain it should be spent on road and bridge maintenance. MoDOT has been streamlining operations for the past several years so that as much funding as possible can be put toward maintaining roads and bridges.

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