For a while, it seemed Arkansas was about to become Buc-ee’s country.
The giant Texas travel-center chain had plans for two Arkansas locations — one along Interstate 30 and another along Interstate 40.
The I-30 store became a reality. Buc-ee’s opened its Benton location on August 17, 2026.
The I-40 store is another story.
That one is supposed to be in West Memphis.
And “supposed to be” is becoming increasingly appropriate.
Buc-ee’s Comes to West Memphis
Plans for the West Memphis Buc-ee’s became public in 2024.
The location is along I-40 near North Seventh Street, not far from the I-40/I-55 interchange. It was to be another of the company’s enormous travel centers, serving both Arkansas traffic and the Memphis metropolitan area.
It wasn’t a small economic-development announcement.
West Memphis officials projected hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars in additional economic activity and tax revenue. The city approved an incentive package worth about $5 million, including land and infrastructure assistance.
There were also plans for two new hotels adjacent to the development.
Originally, Buc-ee’s was expected to open in 2026.
It didn’t.
First 2026. Then 2028.
By the end of 2025, Buc-ee’s had pushed the West Memphis opening back approximately two years.
The new target was June 2028.
The reason wasn’t simply a matter of building the store. Getting thousands of additional vehicles in and out of an already complicated interstate area requires some serious highway work.
The Arkansas Department of Transportation has been working on major improvements involving I-40, I-55, Highway 77 and Highway 191.
And “major” isn’t an exaggeration.
An ARDOT report lists the original contract for the interchange project at about $27.5 million. After another work package was added, the current contract amount grew to more than $55 million.
The work includes widening, interchange improvements, shoulder replacement and construction associated with a planned railroad overpass.
In other words, before West Memphis gets its Buc-ee’s, there is a considerable amount of concrete, asphalt and dirt that has to be moved around.
Now It’s 2029
Then the date moved again.
As of September 2026, Buc-ee’s own website lists the estimated opening for West Memphis as:
2029.
Buc-ee’s cautions that all of its estimated opening dates are subject to change, but the progression is nevertheless striking.
2026.
Then 2028.
Now 2029.
Meanwhile, Arkansas already has its first Buc-ee’s. The Benton store opened in August.
So the Arkansas Buc-ee’s that once appeared likely to follow relatively quickly behind Benton has become a considerably longer-term project.
The Store Isn’t Dead
There is an important distinction here.
No indication suggests Buc-ee’s has canceled West Memphis.
Quite the opposite.
The highway and infrastructure work continues. ARDOT reported substantial progress on the interchange project during 2026, and West Memphis continues preparing for the development.
This isn’t another case of someone putting a Buc-ee’s rumor on Facebook and watching it spread.
There is a site.
There is a Buc-ee’s project.
There are government commitments.
There is major highway construction.
What West Memphis doesn’t have is a Buc-ee’s.
At least not yet.
An Expensive Place to Put a Gas Station
Calling Buc-ee’s a gas station is a little like calling Walmart a grocery store. Technically, there is some truth to it, but it doesn’t begin to capture the scale.
A Buc-ee’s can generate enormous traffic volumes. Put one near the convergence of two major interstate highways, and the transportation problems become much larger than building entrances and exits.
That’s what makes West Memphis interesting.
The Buc-ee’s building itself isn’t necessarily the hard part.
Getting the roads ready for Buc-ee’s may be.
The ARDOT project demonstrates just how much infrastructure can be involved when one of these giant travel centers comes to town. The public highway work around the site has become a project costing tens of millions of dollars in its own right.
And until that puzzle is sufficiently solved, there’s little point in opening a travel center designed to attract enormous numbers of vehicles.
And Then There Is Russellville
For people in the Russellville area, West Memphis is particularly interesting for another reason.
Before West Memphis, Buc-ee’s had seriously considered Russellville.
That wasn’t an Internet rumor, either.
Buc-ee’s had selected property at Exit 83 and had progressed far enough that Buc-ee’s Russellville, LLC appeared on federal permitting documents. Engineering work had been performed, and plans had been drawn.
Ultimately, the deal fell apart.
Developer Joe Roosa later said Buc-ee’s decided not to proceed because of “economics and policies.”
For a time, that appeared to be the end of the Russellville Buc-ee’s story.
Perhaps it was.
But the West Memphis experience reminds us just how complicated these projects can become.
Finding land beside an interstate is only the beginning.
Land costs matter.
Highway access matters.
Utilities matter.
Infrastructure matters.
Local government matters.
And apparently, time matters.
A lot.
West Memphis was supposed to have its Buc-ee’s in 2026.
The calendar now says 2029.
We’ll see.
