The cult classic gas station Buc-ee’s owns land in Anderson County but don’t expect to see the Texas icon anytime soon.

Major improvements — as in a whole new configuration of the access ramps — must be completed before there’s any thought of the gas station being built.

Steve Newton, Anderson County’s governmental affairs director, said traffic is already bad at the Interstate 85 interchange with LIberty Highway and improvements are needed whether Buc-ee’s was coming or not.

Buc-ee’s opened in Florence in May 2022, South Carolina’s first. It was such a big deal Gov. Henry McMaster showed up for the grand opening.

Buc-ee’s founder Arch “Beaver” Aplin told The State the company received 6,000 applications for 300 jobs in Florence, where the minimum pay is $18 an hour and nearly $30 for managers.

Alpin told WYFF recently construction in Anderson wasn’t planned to start for more than a year with a 2026 opening.

Spokesperson Rachel Austin said, “There is no information to share about Anderson, SC at this time.”

Newton said vehicles back up on the ramps now, especially during rush hour and on the southbound ramp which comes from Greenville. The backup sometimes extends onto the highway.

South Carolina Department of Transportation engineers say the current standard ramp design is outdated. Some 22,000 cars flow through there daily.

Newton said a two-lane double diamond configuration is needed to spread the traffic out.

It will cost $60 million to $70 million. The country is preparing an application to the state Infrastructure Bank to bear most of that cost.

Newton said the interchange includes two manufacturing plants, residences and an under development business park. The land Buc-ees owns is undeveloped.

Alpin started Buc-ee’s in 1982 as a typical small convenience store in his hometown of Lake Jackson an hour south of Houstin. The name comes from his childhood nickname and his dog Buck. Alpin is known as Beaver.

In Texas, where Buc-ee’s has 34 stores, its economic impact is $641 million with 5,000 employees. The company now has 47 stores in the Southeast and Missouri.

Bon Appétit magazine deemed it “the best rest stop in America,”

In 1985, Aplin and Don Wasek joined forces. In 2006, the big stores — 17,000 square feet or so — began and a key advertising slogan was clean restrooms — “cleanest restrooms in America!”

Their motto remains “clean, friendly, and in stock.”