Crews from the Mississippi Department of Transportation have installed new signs at entries to the Natchez Trace Parkway to send message that tractor-trailers are not allowed on the road.

“There’s a tractor-trailer on the Parkway,” reported the caller to the dispatcher. “It’s heading north from Highway 82.”

This was the eighth call of the day on illegal trucks traveling the Natchez Trace Parkway, but this time, rangers could not respond because they were busy with a motor vehicle collision. The dispatcher thanked the caller and hoped a ranger would get free to catch the truck before it exited the Parkway, which runs through Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee.

In the past few years, the number of tractor-trailers on the Parkway has steadily increased. Rangers and dispatchers have been tracking the most common entrance and exit points for truck traffic in an attempt to reduce the number of trucks illegally accessing the Parkway. Based on the data collected, they created a new sign plan that provides a clear notice to truckers that the Parkway is off limits.

“Each entrance already has a sign that says ‘No Commercial Vehicles.’ We are adding the universal No Truck Symbol signs to the entrances where we have the most problems with truck traffic,” Chief Ranger Sarah Davis said. “The new signs have a drawing of a truck with a red circle and slash through it. There should be no misunderstanding; trucks are prohibited on the Parkway.”

The Mississippi Department of Transportation and the City of Tupelo have already installed a number of the new signs. The Parkway will also install additional signs on many other entrance ramps. If you see a tractor trailer on the Parkway, contact 1-800-600-PARK (7275) and provide the dispatcher with the location, direction of travel, and any other identifying truck features.