South Carolina’s next officially scheduled Buc-ee’s is still planned for Hardeeville, but the wait will be considerably longer than many travelers expected. As this overview of South Carolina’s three potential Buc-ee’s locations explains, major highway work is shaping the state’s expansion timeline.
Buc-ee’s now lists the Hardeeville travel center for 2031.
The project is planned near Exit 8 of Interstate 95, within the larger Hardee Station development at U.S. Highway 278 and Highway 17. The site is close to the Georgia border, approximately 20 miles from Savannah and convenient to drivers headed toward Hilton Head Island.
Plans call for a 74,000-square-foot store on a 46.2-acre development site. The location is expected to create approximately 200 jobs.
Why is Hardeeville taking so long?
The biggest issue is not the Buc-ee’s building itself. It is the highway infrastructure surrounding it.
South Carolina is widening I-95 and redesigning Exit 8 as part of a massive transportation project. The interchange must be able to handle ordinary interstate traffic, local development and the thousands of additional vehicles a Buc-ee’s can attract each day.
Hardeeville officials initially discussed coordinating the store’s opening with the highway improvements. Buc-ee’s current 2031 estimate shows how far that timeline has moved.
Site preparation or nearby development activity should not be mistaken for an imminent grand opening. The company does not currently expect the Hardeeville store to welcome customers for several more years.
What about the Anderson Buc-ee’s?
Buc-ee’s has also pursued a location near I-85 and Liberty Highway in Anderson County.
That project could theoretically give Upstate South Carolina its first Buc-ee’s, but it has been stalled by the cost of rebuilding the interchange. Estimates have placed the necessary transportation work at approximately $60 million to $70 million, with only a fraction of that funding publicly committed.
Buc-ee’s has owned more than 30 acres near the interchange, but no opening date appears on the company’s current schedule.
That makes Anderson a project to watch rather than South Carolina’s officially scheduled next store.
Florence remains the only open location
South Carolina’s current Buc-ee’s is in Florence at 3390 North Williston Road beside I-95. The 53,000-square-foot travel center opened in May 2022 and includes 120 fueling positions.
For now, Florence remains the state’s only open Buc-ee’s. Hardeeville is officially planned for 2031, while Anderson remains dependent on finding a solution for its costly interchange improvements.
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