Buc-ee’s Plans Massive I-65 Travel Center Near Indianapolis

Buc-ee’s is preparing to make its Indiana debut with a travel center that will be hard to miss: 120 fuel pumps, 42 EV charging stations and a roughly 74,000-square-foot store along Interstate 65 in Greenwood, just south of Indianapolis.

The project cleared a major hurdle on September 21, when the Greenwood Common Council voted 7-2 to approve the rezoning needed for the development to move forward. It will be Indiana’s first Buc-ee’s, with an opening currently planned for 2028. (Axios Indianapolis)

But beyond its enormous size, there is another reason this particular Buc-ee’s stands out: its location.

A strategic location along I-65

The new Buc-ee’s will be built near Worthsville Road and I-65, just south of Indianapolis.

That puts it directly on one of Indiana’s major north-south transportation corridors. I-65 runs through Indianapolis and provides a direct connection north toward the Chicago area and south toward Louisville. From there, the interstate continues through Kentucky and Tennessee before reaching Alabama.

For Buc-ee’s, the location means placing one of its massive travel centers along a highway used by both road travelers and commercial traffic moving between major Midwest markets.

Greenwood is also part of the Indianapolis metropolitan area. The future Buc-ee’s will sit about 11 miles from downtown Indianapolis, according to USA Today.

Until now, Central Indiana residents looking for the Buc-ee’s experience had to leave the state. The National Association of Convenience Stores reported that one of the closest locations to Central Indiana was the recently opened Buc-ee’s in the Dayton, Ohio, area, roughly two hours away.

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120 fuel pumps and a 74,000-square-foot store

Buc-ee’s operates on a very different scale from a typical gas station.

The project will occupy about 37 acres within the larger property covered by the rezoning. Plans call for an approximately 74,000-square-foot store, 120 fueling positions and 42 EV charging stations, according to information presented during the approval process in Greenwood. (WRTV)

The company also expects the new location to create between 175 and 225 jobs once it is operating.

For people familiar with Buc-ee’s, fuel is only part of the attraction.

The Texas-born chain has turned the traditional highway stop into a destination of its own, combining huge stores and sprawling fueling areas with prepared food, brisket, jerky, its famous Beaver Nuggets and seemingly endless merchandise featuring its instantly recognizable beaver mascot.

That formula helped turn Buc-ee’s into a genuine American road-trip phenomenon and has fueled the company’s expansion far beyond its Texas roots.

Its size has also sparked a traffic debate

A development expected to draw that many vehicles to an I-65 exit has also raised questions among people who live and work nearby.

Much of the discussion surrounding the project has focused on how much additional traffic Buc-ee’s could bring to Worthsville Road and surrounding intersections.

Representatives of the Clark-Pleasant Community School Corporation raised concerns about potential delays, particularly during school arrival and dismissal times.

Some residents also voiced concerns about increased traffic, lighting from the massive development and the rezoning of land previously designated for other uses. (WRTV)

The scale of the issue is reflected in Buc-ee’s own proposal.

The company expects to invest approximately $13 million to $14 million in road improvements before the location opens. Planned work includes a new roundabout at Worthsville Road and Collins Road, new traffic signals, additional turn lanes and increased capacity around areas connected to the I-65 ramps.

In other words, Buc-ee’s will not simply build the travel center. The surrounding road network will also need upgrades to handle the traffic the new location is expected to generate.

It looks like a massive truck stop — but there is an important difference

With its location along an interstate, enormous footprint and 120 fuel pumps, the new Buc-ee’s could easily look like a giant truck stop from the highway.

But Buc-ee’s follows a different model from major travel-center chains specifically designed around the needs of commercial trucking.

Its locations are primarily geared toward passenger vehicles and road travelers, and its parking areas do not operate as traditional semi-truck parking facilities.

That does not mean its arrival will go unnoticed by the trucking industry. The new development will sit alongside a heavily traveled freight corridor, and the road improvements associated with the project will affect an area used every day by commercial vehicles.

Truckers traveling I-65 will likely become very familiar with the new Greenwood landmark. For commercial diesel fueling, semi parking, rest and other truck-specific services, however, drivers will still need facilities designed for heavy-duty commercial vehicles.

A new highway giant

The opening is still about two years away. Developers currently expect the project to be completed in 2028, with both the travel center and the necessary access improvements to be built before opening day.

When that happens, Indiana will gain its first location from one of the most recognizable highway brands in the country.

And Greenwood is a particularly notable place to put it: minutes from Indianapolis, directly along I-65 and on a corridor connecting Central Indiana with Louisville to the south and the Chicago area to the north.

With 120 fuel pumps, 42 EV chargers and a 74,000-square-foot store, Indiana’s first Buc-ee’s is being built to become much more than another gas station along the interstate.

A giant of the American highway

Buc-ee’s is also famous for the sheer size of its locations. Its Sevierville, Tennessee, store covers more than 74,000 square feet and features 120 fuel pumps, giving it dimensions closer to a large supermarket than a conventional gas station.

But one detail is particularly striking for a company so closely associated with America’s highways: Buc-ee’s does not allow heavy-duty Class 8 trucks, including traditional 18-wheelers, to use its properties as truck parking facilities. Its sprawling lots are designed primarily for cars, pickups, SUVs and recreational vehicles rather than commercial semis. The issue of adequate parking is already a major concern across the trucking industry, as we have covered in our report on truck parking and towing practices.

The Buc-ee’s experience also goes far beyond filling up the tank. Its signature offerings include Texas-style brisket prepared on site, huge selections of beef jerky and the famous Beaver Nuggets, crunchy corn puffs coated in a sweet caramel-and-butter flavor that have become one of the chain’s best-known products.

That unusual combination — enormous stores, seemingly endless rows of fuel pumps, freshly prepared food and a business model centered on road travelers rather than big rigs — helps explain Buc-ee’s unusual place in American highway culture: it is a giant of the interstate, but it is not a truck stop.