While Lafayette will be the first Louisiana city with a Buc-ee’s, it will soon have company.
Ruston will begin infrastructure work next week for the new Buc-ee’s, with travel center construction starting in about five weeks
Mayor Ronny Walker called the project a major economic boost for Ruston, Grambling and the region.
“We’ve been told about the Department of Transportation that they expect about 15,000 cars a day, and I would say that (about 95% of them) have never stopped in Rustin before,” said Mayor Walker. “So it’s a huge plus.”
Walker sats having a Buc-ee’s in Ruston will spur additional economic development.
“It’s amazing how many phone calls we have received about wanting to locate near them or a hotel or restaurants,” Walker says.
Ruston is investing millions of dollars to improve the I-20/Tarbutton Road interchange.
“We got about $8 million worth of work to do on the road itself,” says Walker. “It’s going to be going from a three lane road to a five lane road … to handle all the traffic.”
Walker says the benefits of the store go beyond just the city of Ruston that the store will bring to the area.
“It’s great not just for the city government, but it’s also good for the school board (and) the sheriff’s office because they all receive taxes also,” Walker notes.
The new Buc-ee’s in Ruston is expected to open sometime in the middle of 2026.
“The road work will take about 11 months. The building itself, they tell me it takes between 12 and 15 months,” says Walker.
Sean Richardson contributed to this report.
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