A truck accident occurred just before 10 a.m. today at Mine Road and Embrey Mill Road in North Stafford. Rescue crews pulled a vehicle from a storm retention pond.
According to Major Shawn Kimmitz from the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office, the crash led to an immediate response from local rescue teams, who successfully extracted one person from the submerged vehicle. The driver, whose identity has not been disclosed, is currently receiving medical treatment for non-life-threatening injuries.
The conditions during the accident included rainfall, although it is still unclear whether speed played a role in the mishap. The intersection was partially closed to facilitate the rescue operation and to investigate the circumstances surrounding the crash.
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We first told you about it in November, and now the Walmart of gas stations has made it official.
Stafford County’s website shows Buc-ees, known for its signature barbeque and Beaver Nuggets, applied for a conditional use permit to build a gas station on 36 acres on Courthouse Road next to Interstate 95 exit 140 in Stafford.
Should the Board of Supervisors approve its conditional use permit, the new 74,000-square-foot Buc-ee’s convenience store, complete with 120 gas pumps, will open outside the Embrey Mill neighborhood.
No public hearings are scheduled on the matter. The beloved roadside megastore was founded in Texas in 1982.
The Stafford location would be the third Buc-ees in Virginia. The mega gas station will build locations on I-64 in New Kent County and on I-81 in Harrisonburg before the end of the decade. The Stafford County location would give the company stores on all three major Virignia interstate highways.
Stafford County has also lured Amazon to build two logistic centers and the international shipping firm DHL in recent years. Buc-ee’s has about 60 stores, with the most in Texas. It also has stores in Florida, South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, and Kentucky.
The coming of Buc-ees has proved contentious in the halls of the Stafford County Government. Since we reported that Buc-ees was considering opening a new store in Stafford, the county’s economic development director, Kyle Alwine, resigned at the end of 2023.
Sources tell Potomac Local News that pressure from locally elected officials and Laura Sellers, whom Glenn Youngkin appointed to the Commonwealth Transportation Board, and a former county supervisor, all oppose Buc-ees, and were a factor in Alwine’s resignation.
Alwine declined to comment on why he left, saying only in an interview with Potomac Local. Sellers, who lives near the proposed gas station site, texted to Potomac Local, “[The Commonwealth Transportation Board] has nothing to do with Buc-ees.”
Sellers also sits on the Stafford County Planning Commission, appointed by Garrisonville District Supervisor Pamela Yeung. The Planning Commission will review Buc-ee’s permit application before it reaches the Board of Supervisors.
“If you have a fairly common type of project, and it will bring benefits to the county, and you fight it, it will send a message [to businesses],” said Alwine. “Sometimes it’s not all about [tax revenue]. Sometimes, it’s about sending a message that you’re open for business.”
Alwine was on the job for less than one year. Meanwhile, the county’s top administrator, Randal Vosburg, announced his resignation after 20 months on the job. His last day is April 5, during the height of the county’s FY2025 budget deliberations.
The Stafford Best Buy originally opened in 2008, marking a milestone for the county. Residents had long desired additional retail options closer to home, reducing the necessity of traveling to neighboring areas. However, changing consumer habits driven by the prevalence of online shopping have contributed to the store’s closure.
The closure is seen as a setback for the county, where residents consistently desire more shopping and entertainment destinations. The news comes amidst ongoing anticipation for developments like The Garrison, a 57-acre property acquired by Reston-based developer Pence Group in 2015. The original plans for The Garrison included 500,000 square feet of commercial space, over 400 residential units, a 12-screen Regal Cinemas, new restaurants, and apartment homes.
However, ground has yet to be broken, and the original deadline of spring 2018 has passed. The county has been without a movie theater since crews demolished Regal Cinemas 10 at Aquia Town Center in 2016.
Simultaneously, commercial development is progressing at Embrey Mill on Courthouse Road, featuring a Publix grocery store, several fast-food restaurants, and locally-owned establishments such as Table 9 Kitchen, Crimson Coward, Manhattan Pizza, and Up North Cutz.
In a further sign of changing times, a new Wawa is under construction at Embrey Mill Town Center, and Texas retail giant Buc-ee’s has expressed interest in building a 74,000-square-foot convenience store with 120 gas pumps.
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Just in time for Thanksgiving travel, the busiest time of the year on highways across the U.S., we're learning Stafford County is working to lure the Walmart of gas stations.
Sources tell PLN the county government is working on a deal to lure a new 74,000-square-foot Buc-ee's convenience store, complete with 120 gas pumps, to open in the Embrey Mill neighborhood. The beloved roadside megastore, often called the Walmart of gas stations, was founded in Texas in 1982.
