Local leadership is hopeful groundbreaking could take place later this year on Emporia’s QuikTrip location.
According to Emporia City Manager Trey Cocking, preliminary designs are complete on the store set to be located at 18th and Graphic Arts. He says the next step in the process will be for BG Consultants to complete the final designs and then put the project out for bid.
As KVOE reported early last June, the store will be one of the company’s largest constructed and is coming to Emporia as part of QuikTrip’s remote travel location program. As of last word, the store is set to cover roughly 8,200 square feet which is far more spacious than most metropolitan community locations which only cover around 5,700 square feet.
The project did hit a bit of a hurdle following that announcement, specifically when it came to traffic management, according to Cocking as the developer’s vision had to match up with KDOT’s new right-of-way rules.
Per the revised plans accepted by KDOT, a new roundabout, north of the US Highway 50 roundabout, will need to be constructed to help with the traffic flow. This means motorists coming off of Interstate 35 and the Kansas Turnpike will not be able to pull directly into the QuikTrip parking lot as many are used to with other locations.
Cocking says while he is hopeful construction will get underway by next year, the project will have another hurdle to clear, supply chains.
A full project timeline is pending the completion of the final designs.
