What’s changed most in recent weeks is the facade. Scaffolding now wraps the front of the building, where crews are actively installing brick and finishing exterior details piece by piece. The work is transforming the Buc-ee’s from a skeletal frame of steel and concrete into something far more recognizable.
Out front, the scale of the fueling station is becoming just as clear. Crews continue building out the sprawling pump canopy, which stretches across a massive footprint for the more than 100 fueling positions planned for the site. The sheer length of the structure underscores Buc-ee’s’ reputation for supersized travel centers built to handle heavy interstate traffic.
Beyond the building, attention appears to be shifting toward what comes next. Much of the surrounding property remains covered in dirt and rock, but the next phase will likely include paving roadways and shaping traffic flow, a critical step for a development positioned along one of the busiest corridors in Texas.
Construction on the 74,000-square-foot travel center began in early 2025 and is expected to cost $47.2 million. Once open, the San Marcos Buc-ee’s is expected to employ around 175 full-time workers while serving both daily commuters and long-distance travelers along I-35.
Signs of Buc-ee’s’ growing footprint are already lining the highway.
Heading northbound toward Austin, drivers are teased by a “You’re Getting Warmer” billboard, highlighting the 93-mile journey to the Temple Buc-ee’s. Traveling southbound toward San Antonio, another billboard reads “Dare: Ghost Pepper Jerky,” indicating the New Braunfels Buc-ee’s is only 20 miles up the road.
Once the San Marcos store opens later this summer, it will become one of the shortest distances between two Buc-ee’s locations in Texas, a strategic move aimed squarely at the explosive growth along the I-35 corridor.
Find it: 3245 N. I-35, San Marcos, TX 78606