It won't be too long before weary motorists driving in Louisiana on I-10 between Lake Charles and Baton Rouge will have a brand new reason to stop near Lafayette. That reason is the planned location of Buc-ee's Travel Center. The Texas-based travel center has through the years become like the "pot of gold" at the end of the traveler's rainbow.

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Today via YouTube
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The travel center offers not only an endless supply of fuel pumps, okay there is a finite number but it sure looks like they go on forever. Buc-ee's has also earned a reputation for better-than-average roadside refreshments in the form of delightful brisket, jerky, candies, and other treats.

Local politicians might also be looking at Buc-ee's as a "pot of gold" because of the economic impact of just the construction on the facility planned for I-10 near Lafayette is supposed to create more than 100 construction jobs and $10 million in personal income. Once operational the Lafayette store is expected to generate approximately $1.5 million in single-year local sales tax collections.

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WVUE FOX 8 New Orleans via YouTube
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Maybe that's why local governments are open to the idea of reconstructing roadways, building bridges and overpasses, and in the case of the Mississippi Buc-ee's in Harrison County, they created a whole new exit off of I-10 to ensure that the flow of traffic to the store and on the Interstate would not be affected.

Later this month Buc-ee's has confirmed plans to break ground on a new store location. No, this won't be the Lafayette location, groundbreaking on that store is still many months away. This store, in Benton, Arkansas, will be Arkansas' first Buc-ee's. The I-30 location is about 30 miles from Little Rock. It is expected to be tied for the largest Buc-ee's in the chain coming in at 75,000 square feet.

Ron Burkett via YouTube
Ron Burkett via YouTube
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A Buc-ee's in Luling Texas is about that size so the two stores will hold the record for a very short time because the Buc-ee's brain trust has already announced plans for an even larger travel center in Ocala, Florida. The Ocala Buc-ee's is forecast to have a footprint of 80,000 square feet. 

via Youtube/ ForeverPPL
via Youtube/ ForeverPPL
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Meanwhile, the timetable for Buc-ee's first Louisiana location has now been pushed back to mid-2026. That location near Ruston at the Tarbutton Road exit off I-20 will require significant infrastructure changes and that's why the timetable has been shifted. One of the bridges that will bring motorists to and from the store will need to be modified from three lanes to five lanes to accommodate the anticipated traffic flow.

Meanwhile, there has been no official announcement of when Buc-ee's will hold a groundbreaking in the Lafayette area. The best guess at this time is "early 2025" which could be in a few weeks or more likely a few months. The plan right now is to have the I-10 Buc-ees at Louisiana Avenue in Lafayette open for business by the second quarter of 2026.

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Gallery Credit: Bruce Mikells

 

 

 

 

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