by Malcolm Butler
Ruston mayor Ronny Walker said that the Louisiana State Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) has signed off on the approved plans for Phase 1 of the Tarbutton Road improvements in conjunction with the development of Buc-ee’s and other businesses coming to the parish in the near future.
“We as a city will put these out for bid in the next two weeks,” said Walker. “They will go out and those bids will come back to us in the middle of January. We will turn around in our February (City Council) meeting and approve the contract for whoever gets the bid.”
Walker said he hopes the bid solicits “as many bidders as possible.”
The approved plans do not include the Buc-ee’s development itself, according to Walker.
“These are simply the roads,” said Walker.
Phase 1 includes all of Tarbutton Road, including the exits and entrances to I-20 going East and West as well as the service road. It also includes the addition of lanes on the Tarbutton Road bridge as well as I-20 and service road entrances and exits.
The project will be paid through the $15 million bond issue that was approved through the Tax Incremental District.
“It’s a huge step for us,” said Walker, who first announced the Buc-ee’s development on January 9, 2023. “We are thankful for finally getting to this point. There was a Cooperative Endeavor Agreement that had to be signed by the city and the state and that was the other key piece that had to get done.”
Stantec is the engineering firm based in Baton Rouge that will be in charge of the project.
Walker said the estimated cost of the plans is $8 million but that expenses for water, sewage, and electricity will also come out of the approved $15 million bond.
“I want to thank our staff — John (Freeman), Andrew (Halbrook), and everyone who has worked tirelessly on this for the last (23) months,” said Walker. “I also want to thank the DOTD district office in Monroe. They have been very, very helpful with this. And Stantec has been incredible to work with once again. But most of all the Secretary of Transportation Joe Donahue and Governor Jeff Landry for helping make this happen.”
While the process continues to move forward for the city of Ruston on the road and infrastructure side, Walker said Buc-ee’s officials continue to move forward with their checklist.
“They will continue to get their plans approved,” said Walker. “My hope would be that all of this comes together at the same time in March or April and there is a groundbreaking.”
Walker said once the bid is awarded he expects it to take another month or two before dirt work begins. Once that work begins, its a 300-day timeline for completion of Phase 1.
“They usually take 30 to 60 days to lay down, in other words to get their equipment and supplies in place,” said Walker, who is not completely sure where that footprint will be.
So once construction begins, what does that mean for the traffic flow along Tarbutton Road?
“Our intention and expectation is that traffic will be maintained throughout the project area and the ramps during construction,” said Halbrook. “There may be some activities that may limit it for a day or 48 hours or so. The overall flow and operation of the area should be maintained throughout the construction.”
Once the Tarbutton Road work is complete, three stop lights will be included — one on each side of the bride as well as a third in front of the entrance into Buc-ee’s across from Ruston Junior High.
The timeline for the construction of Buc-ee’s is a 12- to 15-month process.
