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Iowa 80


Iowa 80 is the world's largest truck stop, located along Interstate 80 off exit 284 in Walcott, Iowa. Set on a 220-acre (89 ha) plot of land (four times larger than an average truckstop)—75 acres (30 ha) of which are currently developed—the site receives 5,000 visitors daily, and features a 67,000 sq ft (6,200 m2) main building, parking for 900 trucks, and 150 fuel pumps, with each fuel pump also having another dedicated pump for dispensing bulk diesel exhaust fluid. Four-hundred and fifty employees staff the megaplex.

Iowa 80 is currently affiliated with the TravelCenters of America chain.

Bill Moon, a regional manager for Standard Oil, purchased the land and built the original truckstop in 1964 along the emerging I-80, the 3,000-mile (4,800 km) highway which would directly connect San Francisco with New York. "As they were building I-80, my father was responsible for finding land and building truck stops for Standard," says his daughter Delia Meier. Initially a small white enamel building surrounded by cornfields, it housed a modest truckers store, one lube bay and a restaurant. Bill Moon took direct control in September 1965, and eventually purchased the site from the corporation in 1984. In 1992, the year of Moon's death, it became a Travelcenter of America franchise, though the facility is still owned and operated by the Moon family. In addition, the Iowa 80 Group also owns the Joplin (MO) Petro on Interstate 44, Oak Grove (MO) 70 off Interstate 70 just outside Kansas City, and Kenley (NC) 95 off of Interstate 95.

Iowa 80 has a large truck parking lot, truck scales, and fueling stations as is customary for a truck stop. There are fifteen fuel stations. The stations have nozzles on each side, so tanks on both sides of the truck can be filled simultaneously. Since the introduction of trucks requiring diesel exhaust fluid, the fuel island at Iowa 80 has been renovated to include pumps for bulk DEF dispensing. Iowa 80 has a service center where vehicle diagnostics, minor repairs, oil changes or tire rotations can be done. A small convenience store is located on the fuel island. Iowa 80 also has a truck washing facility, and even the engine can be washed.


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