Talks of third truck stop in NK continue to progress

A proposal for building a third truck stop in New Kent is making its way through talks and negotiations in the county. And if things continue to progress, a formal proposal may reach county supervisors by this fall.

Love’s, based out of Oklahoma City, Okla., continues to negotiate with county staff on the possibility of bringing a travel plaza to New Kent. And while county planning manager Kelli Le Duc said no formal application has been submitted, the company is taking steps into the process.

According to county administrator Rodney Hathaway, Love’s tentative plans are to build a truck stop across Route 106 from the existing Pilot truck stop and where Wilco-Hess plans to build a travel plaza.

“The only thing they have submitted up to this point is the VDOT (Virginia Department of Transportation) recommendation study,” said Le Duc. “Other than that, nothing has been formally submitted.”

Hathaway said that interest from the Oklahoma-based company has picked up in the last few months.

“Love’s has contacted us about paperwork and seems to have a real interest in bringing their services to New Kent,” he said. “We’re steadily in talks with them about the requirements they need and our staff is continuously remaining in contact with them.”

When asked about how far along the talks are, the county administrator commented that things are moving towards a formal presentation.

“The way things are going right now, it would not surprise me if they had all the paperwork submitted by this fall,” added Hathaway. “We want to make sure they are taking the right steps and doing things correctly before we take anything to the board of supervisors or planning commission.”

But Love’s isn’t the only travel plaza that still has a few things to work out. Wilco-Hess LLC, based out of North Carolina, had its conditional use permit (CUP) approved last July for the construction of a travel plaza with an 8,000 square-foot convenience store and 3,400 square-foot fast food restaurant. However, construction of the facility has yet to commence.

“VDOT has some concerns about the distance of the proposed entrances,” said Hathaway, speaking specifically about the access routes to the construction site. “However, Wilco-Hess is constantly working with VDOT in an effort to rectify that matter, as well as working with county staff.”

Wilco-Hess’ travel plaza is to be built just north of the current Pilot truck stop on Route 106.