The Speedway Truck Stop on U.S. Highway 51 at the intersection ofInterstates 10 and 55 officially opened Friday morning.

Located on nine acres of land, Speedway is a stopover with the trucker in mind.

Not only does it have a parking area able to hold 120 big rigs and 10 diesel fueling lanes, but the facility has a truckers’ lounge for relaxation, a laundromat, video game room, phone room with computer hookups and a monitor that tells independent truckers where they can pick up loads and find work.

There are also seven showers in the building.

Speedway regional manager John Reynolds said, “In a national survey we did with truckers we found the number one request of truckers is that they want a place to shower on the road.”St. John Parish President Nickie Monica and Sheriff Wayne Jones were bothat the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Both officials were impressed with thetour of the new truck stop.

“These are jobs that the parish needs,” Monica said.

“This Speedway will employ 65 to 70 local people,” Eric Rey, district development manager for Speedway, said.

The facility also has a Church’s Fried Chicken and a Blimpie’s franchise all manned by Speedway employees.

Reynolds was happy with the response to the facility’s opening. He pointedto all the trucks lined up at the diesel fueling slots and remarked, “This is what we like to see.”While Speedway has many features, it does not have video poker machines.

“We chose not to get into video poker,” said Reynolds. “We want to offertruckers other services instead.”Speedway is considered the nation’s largest truck stop provider with more than 2,400 truck stops across the country. Speedway is a subsidiary ofMarathon/Ashland Oil.

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