Buc-ee’s First Louisiana Location Set for 2025 Opening in Ruston

RUSTON, La. (KPEL News) - With state funding set aside by the Louisiana legislature in this year's session, the construction work needed to pave the way for the state's first Buc-ee's can begin. That road work has the beloved chain set to open in 2025.

The news comes months after the project to build Buc-ee's was delayed. Back in March, the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development said a traffic study needed to be done before the project could begin.

Get our free mobile app

More on the update from the Shreveport Times:

Louisiana's first Buc-ee's travel center in Ruston is on schedule for a 2025 opening after the Legislature earmarked $6 million for the first phase of infrastructure to accommodate the development, Mayor Ronny Walker said.

Walker said a $6 million direct appropriation in the state budget will fund construction of the service road to deliver traffic to Buc-ees and said U.S. Sen. John Kennedy has earmarked $6 million more for the second phase of construction, though Congress hasn't yet passed its budget bill.

"Phase 1 gets Buc-ee's open," Walker said in an interview with USA Today Network. "Our state legislative delegation did an incredible job to get the funding included in the budget."

The plan is for the groundbreaking for Buc-ee's to take place in 2024, with the grand opening being in 2025, Ruston Mayor Ronny Walker explained.

The company is set to complete a traffic study this month. That study, according to the Times is required for final state and federal approvals of the I-20 interchange, as well as service road designs. Once that is complete, the real work gets underway.

Buc-ee's is set to open right across from Ruston Junior High School.

Buc-ee's has been expanding in several states in recent years. In 2022, it began moving into South Carolina, Colorado, Tennessee, and Missouri. Earlier this year, planning documents revealed plans for Virginia and Wisconsin.