MEBANE, N.C. — Road closures on I-40 near Mebane on Thursday and Friday were the result of initial preparations for the Buc-ee's expansion into North Carolina, NCDOT officials confirmed.
Beginning early Thursday morning, a moving closure near Trollingwood Hawfields Road at Mile Marker 150 started to allow Duke Energy to "pull new power lines across the interstate."
Buc-ee's is a Texas-based chain of travel centers that offers customers a place to fill up on gas, food and other goodies while they're on the road. The Mebane City Council approved bringing Buc-ee's to the city with a 5-0 vote in January after eight hours of vigorous debate from members of the community.
This Buc-ee's — the first ever in North Carolina — is set to open sometime soon after construction is completed at the 32-acre site at Exit 152 on Interstates 40/85 in Alamance County.
Mebane actually wasn't the first choice for Buc-ee's when they initially flirted with the idea of expanding into the Tar Heel State. The company reached out to Orange County officials about a possible location in Efland in 2023, but the company ultimately gave up on that idea after the Orange County Commissioners expressed concerns over the number of gas nozzles needed to complete the project.
Some Mebane residents had concerns about how the new travel center would affect local traffic before the expansion was ultimately approved.
"I think it's just going to cause me to be waiting at stop lights more and more, more than I currently do, more than I want to," Mebane resident Edward Mazurek said.
Still, others have shown support for the project and the tourists it could drive to the area.
"I know people that have children that have specifically asked to go to a Buc-ee's just to go there because they want to see what it's like," Mebane resident Lisa Nellis said.
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