Wisconsin’s Buc-ee’s story has taken another turn. After one Wisconsin project moved forward while another remained stuck, construction activity has finally started at the state’s first location—and the city has now locked the company into a firm schedule.
The travel center is being built in Oak Creek, just south of Milwaukee, in the southwest quadrant of the Interstate 94 and Elm Road interchange. Plans call for a 74,000-square-foot store, 120 fueling positions and electric-vehicle charging stations. The city describes it as a private investment of at least $65 million that should create about 200 full-time jobs.
Buc-ee’s originally targeted an early 2027 opening. The latest timeline points to early 2028 instead.
That delay does not mean the project is in danger. Site work began during the summer of 2026, with underground utility and sewer work expected before full building construction. The store is still positioned to become Wisconsin’s first Buc-ee’s and the chain’s northernmost location when it opens.
The newest twist is that Oak Creek has now put those dates in writing. The Common Council voted unanimously on August 18 to approve a community partnership agreement requiring Buc-ee’s to begin construction no later than September 1, 2026, and to substantially complete the travel center by August 1, 2028.
The agreement goes well beyond deadlines. Buc-ee’s will make a one-time $350,000 contribution to a community project chosen by the city, payable within 30 days of the store opening, and will provide $15,000 annually toward city marketing, special events and community celebrations. The company will also give Visit Oak Creek space for an informational kiosk inside the store.
The headline detail, though, is the address. Part of Elm Road is set to be renamed Buc-ee’s Boulevard, pending approval from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, with Buc-ee’s paying for the new signs. That is a notable concession from a city to a chain famous for giving travelers a nearly identical experience wherever it builds.
City officials have emphasized what the agreement does not contain: no tax breaks and no tax increment financing.
The longer timeline traces mostly to infrastructure. Work must be coordinated with a Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District project running through the property, and the city and company adjusted the target to early 2028 so that sewer work can finish before the travel center wraps.
Wisconsin could eventually receive a second Buc-ee’s, too.
A separate project has been discussed in DeForest, north of Madison along Interstate 39/90/94. That proposal has been stalled by negotiations over a diverging diamond interchange at Highway V, now estimated at roughly $16.9 million—up from an earlier $15.1 million estimate, of which Buc-ee’s had agreed to cover about 53.7%, its share of the traffic impact. Village officials have continued searching for a way to close the remaining gap, and confirmed in mid-2026 that the project is still moving forward, just slowly. No opening date has been announced.
For now, Oak Creek is clearly ahead.
Wisconsin still has no open Buc-ee’s locations, but the state has moved beyond rezoning hearings and architectural drawings. Work is happening on the property, the council has taken its final action, and part of the road out front may soon carry the beaver’s name.
The disappointing part is the additional wait. The encouraging part is that Wisconsin’s first Buc-ee’s finally looks less like a proposal and more like a construction project.
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