First Springfield-area Love's opens tomorrow

Oklahoma City-based Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores Inc. tomorrow morning will open its first truck stop in the Springfield area.

Located at Missouri Highway 125 and Interstate 44 in Strafford, the truck stop employs 59, said Kyla Turner, Love's communications manager, adding the company will evaluate the need for more employees.

The roughly $8 million, 10,000-square-foot station was constructed by Fort Worth, Texas-based Harman Construction Inc. and designed by Oklahoma City-based Pascal Aughtry & Associates PLLC, with engineer Snyder & Associates Inc., of Ankeny, Iowa, providing civil, structural, mechanical, electrical and plumbing work, according to Springfield Business Journal archives.

The 24-hour travel stop includes a Hardee's restaurant and an automated car wash. For truck drivers, the stop has seven showers for rent, and a stand-alone tire shop is scheduled to open in a couple of weeks, Turner said.

"It is very important to us that we form a lasting partnership with the communities where we operate, and we are honored to be a part of the Strafford community," Love's CEO Tom Love said in a news release.

During a ribbon-cutting ceremony set for 8 a.m. tomorrow, Love's will present a $2,000 donation to Strafford Schools. Guests scheduled to appear at the event include Dan Wadlington, a representative for U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt; Missouri State Sen. Jay Wasson; Greene County Commissioner Jim Viebrock; Strafford Mayor John Vicat; and Strafford Area Chamber of Commerce & Industry President Alice Delcour, the release said.

The next-closest Love's Travel Stop is located on the outskirts of Joplin.
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