April 25,2018-
Tulare Pilot/Flying J could open by year’s end
More Hwy 99 fueling options coming
‘Get your motor running’ people.
By early next year Hwy 99 motorists including that parade of Central Valley big-rigs will be able to refuel in Tulare with a choice of rival travel centers right across the street from each other.
The City of Tulare is processing an EIR for new 13.63 acre Pilot/Flying J truck stop at Paige and 99 to be built next to the existing Love’s truck stop.
“They hope to be in operation by the end of this year” says the city’s top planner Josh McDonnell.
The site is vacant now at the southwest corner of Blackstone Street and Paige Avenue just west of 99. Love’s is next door right across Blackstone.
Pilot/Flying J is the the largest operator of truck stops and rest stops in North America sporting 750 locations and more than $20 billion in revenue. Not far behind is Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores – a family-owned chain with some 450 truck stop and convenience stores in 41 states.
Highly competitive in many markets, it is not unusual for motorists to see their dueling 100-foot advertising signs a half-mile away, right next to each other – not unlike when you come upon McDonald’s and Burger King at the same intersection. Must be good for business.
Privately-owned Pilot has attracted a big investor recently.Last fall Berkshire Hathaway announced that it would buy Pilot/Flying J in a multi-step transaction that will see Berkshire initially acquire 38.6% of the company and increases that stake to 80% in 2023.
Owned by Warren Buffet, Berkshire already runs railroad giant Burlington Northern-SantaFe, whose tracks run west of Tulare.
Owning transports looks like a good bet with the trucking industry on a roll despite diesel prices at a 3-year high and a trucker shortage. The Wall Street Journal recently reported a 20% surge in first-quarter revenues in this sector that they said signaled growing financial strength among U.S. freight transportation providers like JB Hunt and others.
Ditto for these big companies who fuel them up. One estimate has US freight shipments up 11.9% in March, year-over year.
The plan for the Tulare Pilot Travel Center is impressive with a 15,000 square foot building, 9 diesel fueling lanes,10 lanes selling gasoline including 3 for RVs, parking for 137 trucks and 84 car spaces, showers, convenience store, a driver’s lounge, game room, pay phones, ATM’s, Western Union desk.
Pilot Travel Centers typically do not utilize full-service dining but offer a variety of brands of fast food. The truck stop is expected to have 40 to 50 employees.
Gas prices at Love’s are some of the best around. Right now Love’s is advertising regular for $3.29 with the state average now near $3.60 a gallon.
Fuel sales help Tulare
With more vehicles fueling up in Tulare, the city can expect higher fuel taxes to bolster their budget. Already 22 percent of all sales tax revenues in Tulare comes from fuel sales. For now, both sales and prices have been rising lately with a jump in oil prices, on the cusp of $70 a barrel.
Pilot is said to be the largest purveyor of over-the-road diesel fuel in the United States.Meanwhile Loves is not just sitting there.The Tulare location is under construction expanding its tire shop.
Tulare vs Goshen? More Options
Inter-city rivalry from nearby Goshen as a fuel-stop could heat up soon with the completion of the Betty Drive interchange by the end of this year and several large fueling stations in the works here – 20 miles to the north. The county’s new Goshen Community Plan adds about 40-50 acres to the west of the interchange zoned highway commercial, expected to be home to several new hotels in the future as well. The interchange is sure to be to a big truck exit heading into the Visalia Industrial Park. To the south Earlimart has a new Hwy 99 cluster of gas stations, hotels and restaurants as well.
Then, a few years out, look for Caldwell and 99 to develop along with Tulare’s own Cartmill Ave.