Tidewater Review |

New Kent supervisors back expanding interchange on I-64 to support Buc-ee’s plans

NEW KENT — New Kent County is making a $44 million bid to the Virginia Department of Transportation for a new interchange that would support the proposed Buc-ee’s travel center.

At its July 8 work session, the Board of Supervisors unanimously backed the bid under VDOT’s Smart Scale initiative. The Interstate 64/Exit 211 interchange improvement project would enhance the traffic flow to one of Buc-ee’s first travel centers in Virginia, which is scheduled to be built by 2027.

Last year, Buc-ee’s touted the New Kent location as its first in Virginia but it is yet to break ground in New Kent, and the widening of I-64 slowed process. The Texas-based chain has since broken ground on a center in Rockingham County.

At the July 8 meeting, Planning Director Amy Inman said the county has been looking at alternatives for the Exit 211 interchange over recent months.

“Over that time frame we’ve been able to come up with a preferred alternative which is a diverging diamond interchange. As part of that process, we’ve gone through the development of an interchange access report that has been coordinated with VDOT and (Federal Highway Administration),” she said.

Inman said the county received $18.3 million for the project from the Central Virginia Transportation Authority and is using those funds to leverage the SmartScale funding.

“There’s a lot going on there at the 211 exit ramp. This makes a lot of sense,” said board Chair Thomas Evelyn.

The proposed Buc-ee’s is part of a development jigsaw that includes 1,600 acres to the south, yielding about 7 million square feet of industrial development and a planned unit development near the interstate. An AutoZone distribution center under construction near Exit 211 is scheduled to open in 2025.

A county resolution states that the existing interchange at Exit 211 “does not provide for adequate capacity to serve major commercial, manufacturing, and distribution centers located just north and south of I-64 Exit 211 along Route 106.”

Inman told the planning commission on April 15 that Buc-ee’s still intends to open its store in New Kent in 2027. She said that a new interchange at the intersection is unlikely to be completed until 2030, but an interim configuration proposed by Buc-ee’s should be sufficient “until we can get the full build in terms of handling the congestion and the backups.”

County staff has previously said the building of the travel center is not contingent on the road improvement.

Buc-ee’s purchased land at Exit 211 off I-64 from Kent Farms Holdings Company LLC for $6.5 million in 2023. The convenience megastore will feature over 75,000 square feet of retail space, 120 fueling positions, numerous electric vehicle chargers and over 650 parking spaces.

The company has said it intends to open four stores in the state over the next few years.

David Macaulay, davidmacaulayva@gmail.com