Worlds biggest truck stop in Iowa
Trucking is not just a profession. This is a lifestyle that someone considers romantic, someone is difficult. Truck drivers are a community in which it doesn’t matter what nationality you are, where you live and what language you speak. The road makes everyone equal. But drivers have special places – these are parking lots. Here they communicate, share experiences, tell the latest news. Somewhere it is just a small patch of asphalt square with toilets and, at best, a small cafe. And there are whole cities in which everything is thought out, to the smallest detail. One such place is even legendary. It is the worlds largest truck stop in Iowa, with infrastructure that even a model town can envy.
A bit of history
When the now legendary Highway 80, which connects San Francisco and New York, was still a very young and light road, the manager of one of the oil companies invested in buying land on this site. He acquired a plot of as much as 4,800 km. He built a small white building here, in which he opened a shop that sold all the goods necessary for drivers.
This investment did not end there. Bill Moon spent thirty years expanding his first site and building an empire of similar places. Today the first legendary truck stop is part of the TravelCenters of America network. Iowa 80 occupies 89 hectares of land, which contains everything you need for drivers, and even more.
Infrastructure Iowa 80
They say that in America a truck driver cannot consider himself a real truck driver if he has never slept at the legendary Iowa biggest truck stop. But here you can not only sleep, refuel and have a snack. The infrastructure of this place is really impressive:
- Refills – 15 pcs. The columns are designed so that the driver fills both tanks at the same time;
- Service center – here you can diagnose a car, make repairs, change oil, rubber. Everything you need is sold right there;
- Washing – the truck can be washed not only outside and in the cab, but even the engine, if necessary;
- Restaurants and eateries – there is a whole network of them for every taste. There is a cafe with different cuisines of the world, for vegetarians, for people of different religions;
- A huge number of toilets, showers, laundries, drying rooms, ironing;
- Hairdressers, beauty salons, massage rooms;
- Medical specialists – dentists, orthopedists, even chiropractors;
- Cinema – 600 seats.
Separately, it is worth talking about the signature restaurant Iowa 80. Only this institution sells 1 mil.cups of coffee and 100 tons of meat per year. Home cooking is served here. It is said that there are fans of this restaurant who are ready to detour several hundred kilometers to eat in their favorite place.
There is also a business center in the parking lot, so if necessary, you can conclude a deal here, send a trip report. The center is equipped with the most modern technology.
This place is known to all truckers in the world. TravelCenters of America is looking to expand its operations overseas.