Officials with Pilot Flying J have confirmed plans to set up a gas station in the area.
Company spokeswoman Sharon Donnell told Dougall Media Monday that they are abandoning their plans for a travel plaza at the corner of Oliver Road and the Thunder Bay Expressway for a Shell Flying J gas station at the Pass Lake truck stop on Highway 11/17.
The truck stop closed two years ago.
Although it will be reopened under a new name, the previous owner will continue to manage the station.
Shuniah Reeve Maria Harding said it’s good news for her community.
“It’s a good news story for the travelling public,” she said. “It’s also good news for people working in our area. We have missed the truck stop over the years. I think it is appropriate that it will reopen especially with the new highway going through.”
Plans to bring the American-based gas station to the city started back in 2004 when city council approved the $7 million project. The project was met with opposition from residents before the company reached a compromise in 2007.
A year later, Flying J went into bankruptcy protection and later merged with Pilot Travel Centers.
Harding says she’s glad to put all the rumours to rest and suspects the station will be up and running before Christmas.
“It’s going to be a truck stop like it was before,” she said. “It will be serving the local area as well as it always had.”
(Thunder Bay Television)
