In a cooperative pilot program, the California Highway Patrol, the California Department of Transportation and Los Angeles County’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority have added two big rig tow trucks to the Freeway Service Patrol program.

The Freeway Service Patrol is a free-of-charge motorist assist program that helps stranded drivers on Los Angeles freeways. Trucks patrolling the freeways offer assistance such as jump-starts, fixing flats and moving cars off of busy roads.

Now, as part of a two-year test program, two trucks capable of hauling big rigs are patrolling the Long Beach Freeway. The trucks began their patrols Monday, Oct. 3.

According to the Transportation Authority, if the tow trucks cannot get the trucks running within 10 minutes, they will tow the trucks to a safe drop location off the freeway, free of charge.

The tow trucks are not authorized to take trucks to repair shops or to a private residence. The Transportation Authority said on its Web site that, as with the regular tow trucks in the Freeway Service Patrol, the goal of the new trucks will be to move vehicles off the road as quickly as possible to get them out of harm’s way and to maintain the flow of traffic.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa told the (Long Beach) Daily Breeze that the Long Beach Freeway was chosen for the pilot because of its proximity to the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles and the amount of truck traffic it sees on a daily basis.

The California Highway Patrol estimates that the 18-mile stretch of road sees 11 or more accidents or breakdowns involving trucks each week.

The funding for the $2.5 million pilot program comes through an existing vehicle registration fee charged by the state. After a year, the project will be evaluated for possible expansion onto other California freeways.

The trucks will patrol the freeway from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays.