Love’s Travel Stops is opening a new location in a rural part of southwestern North Carolina with the help of a U.S. Department of Commerce grant.
The $1.6 million grant will aid in the development of new infrastructure that will support the travel center. The Economic Development Administration grant was awarded to Spindale, North Carolina, “to fund necessary water and sewer system improvements to support business growth and new regional jobs.”
According to Transport Topics’ reporting, “This EDA investment will help create opportunities for residents to get good-paying jobs in the trucking industry and other in-demand sectors, like hospitality,” U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said. “President Biden’s Investing in America agenda provides communities—including those impacted by a decline in the coal economy—with the resources they need to grow and diversify their economies.”
The money was earmarked for communities affected by declining coal use to promote “new jobs, economic diversification, capital investments, workforce development and re-employment opportunities” through the Assistance to Coal Communities initiative.
The federal funds will work alongside $388,809 in local contributions, and the infrastructure improvement is predicted to create and retain 35 jobs and generate $5 million in private investment, according to Transport Topics.
Noting that while the area along U.S. 74 where the travel stop will be is not bustling with manufacturing and distribution, it is a strategic freight corridor between the Port of Wilmington in the east and Charlotte’s freight network in the west. This area also connects the Wilmington port to I-95.
Construction of Love’s Travel Stops will bring much needed trucking parking to the region. North Carolina Trucking Association president Ben Greenberg said “I understand the project is going to come with new truck parking spots at an important highway interchange in N.C. ... [I]t’s something everyone in the industry can get behind. It helps companies with fleet utilization, safety, driver pay and workforce development.”