Construction on Louisiana’s Closest Buc-ee’s Delayed

Louisiana fans of the travel mega store Buc-ee's will have to wait until 2025 before the company opens its first location inside the borders of the Sportsman's Paradise. The location for that Buc-ee's will be near Ruston, Louisiana on I-20. However, they won't even break ground on that location until next year.

There have also been some logistical delays, also known as red tape, thrown out by the State of Louisiana which will impact the construction plan of the I-20 in-state location of the store. So, fans of Beaver Nuggets and brisket will have to cool their jets for several months at the very least. And then, they'll have to go to Ruston which is a hard sell even with a Buc-ee's.

Meanwhile along the I-10 corridor construction on Louisiana's closest location of Buc-ee's has also hit a bit of a snag. The Mississippi Department of Transportation made the announcement late last week that a planned demolition of a bridge along I-10 would not begin on August 7th.

MDOT had planned for the westbound lanes of I-10 to be closed near Exit 24, where the travel store will be located yesterday and today. But that plan was scrapped at the last minute on Friday and work crews hope to reconvene to complete the project in the coming weeks.  Assuming there are no weather delays or materials and equipment issues work should begin as soon. Here's the latest update. 

Once the westbound lanes have been taken care of the eastbound lanes of I-10 will undergo a similar closer and revamping.

For those with concerns about travel through the area near Exit 24 on I-10 in Mississippi, don't be. MDOT says traffic will exit from the interstate and then reenter the roadway at the entrance ramp on the other side of the bridge. Yes, with a lot of traffic that will take some time but at least the roadway won't be totally shut down.

As far as the opening of the Pass Christian location of Buc-ee's is concerned the timetable of December 2024 is still being touted by the company. In the meantime, your closest location of Buc-ee's might be to the west in Baytown Texas. That's about an hour and a half drive from the Texas State line. It's a good thing they have snacks and bathrooms for when you get there.