FLOYD, Iowa- A ribbon cutting ceremony held at Love’s Travel Station in Floyd was held on Friday with many people eager to see the new company come to the small town.
“With the new truck stop I think it will mean more businesses and more trucks coming here,” says Stephanie Bremer of Rudd.
City leaders, however, are looking at it from a different angle.
“Putting this here is like building another town of Floyd next to the town of Floyd,” says Mayor Trevis O’Connell. “As mayor you have a couple of jobs, police, fire department, and utilities, but after that is come to how you can bring more tax dollars in without raising it on the residents. This business will help out tremendously.”
Mayor O’Connell is not only the mayor of Floyd, but is also now an employee of Love’s himself.
Though many are excited about the new opportunities the company will bring, they are also aware that the truck stop also means more truck traffic on an already highly populated area.
“I hope the opening of this truck stop brings more attention to the DOT about the importance of fixing this intersection,” says Mayor O’Connell. “Reducing the speed to 55 MPH has helped out a lot, but hopefully they can get those plans done within the next couple of years.”
Those plans he is referring to is knowing as the “preferred alternative.” A design the community and the DOT have come up to change the intersection. Those drafts were presented to the community in nearly November; now the plans need to be approved by the DOT staff as well as the board of commissions.
Those who work at the new truck stop say they are aware of the intersection and hope these plans are the answer.
“If the plans are for an interchange in the area across the street then I think that would be a good idea,” says Mike Peterson, the General Manager of Love’s Travel Stop.
But until those plans are concrete, those who travel the intersection on a daily basis have some advice for drivers.
“Watch where you’re going,” says Bremer. “Don’t be impatient; there’s a lot of that.”