| Allred stressed that a building-plan review is not the only thing the company needs from the city staff, and that the completion of its reviews isn’t the same thing as actually pulling construction permits.
Once Buc-ee’s does pull permits, it will have six months to start construction before they expire. Calling for any type of city inspection adds another year to the deadline.
This matters because one of the conditions of the council’s approval of the project is that Buc-ee’s work with the N.C. Department of Transportation to rebuild the Trollingwood Road interchange. This means widening the bridge that carried Trollingwood Hawfields Road over I-40/85, and adding more turn lanes to both the eastbound and westbound ramps.
As of this week, all of that work is pending.
Allred confirmed that Buc-ee’s can’t get a certificate of occupancy until the interchange work is complete.
The project remains controversial with groups like the N.C. Environmental Justice Network that argue that it gas fumes, spills and leaks will threaten the health of neighbors and Buc-ee’s employees.
Mebane’s support for the project came three years after the Texas-based chain abandoned plans to build the station eight miles to the east at Exit 160 in Orange County.
If and when completed, the new station be part of an area in eastern Alamance County with stations generally offering lower prices than passing motorists can find in neighboring counties.
This week, for example, GasBuddy was reporting that existing stations at Exist 152 were selling regular for $2.75 a gallon. To the east, stations at Interstate 85’s Exits 164 and 165 in Orange County near Hillsborough were charging $2.99 a gallon. |
