Truckers often have a favorite truckstop, a place they call "home," as well as favorites along the highways they travel. They want quality services and fuel; friendly, fast service; clean facilities and good food. And plenty of parking spaces.

TA's new facility design goes far toward providing as much of a home as possible for people who spend their lives on the road. One of TA's latest is in San Antonio, Texas.

Lance Davis, general manager, brings more than 25 years of experience in managing company facilities in such places as Ontario, Calif., Las Cruces, N.M., and Valdosta, Ga. He even spent some time down under in Australia, developing truckstops for the BP system.

"Operating a large, modern truck fuel facility is like being the captain of a huge ocean liner," Davis says. "Especially during the start-up operations. You basically have to take the facility on a shakedown cruise."

All the best laid plans of designers, engineers, contractors and inspectors are put to the test when you throw the switch and see what works and what doesn't.

"And that is only part of the challenge," he adds. "We have over 160 people engaged in a wide range of tasks 24-7. Hiring all those folks, training them and making their jobs rewarding in both financial and emotional terms is a bigger challenge than building the facility itself. But when it hums along, and everything works together -- the people work together, and the drivers, our main customers, are happy -- it is all worth the effort."

Today TA designs its facilities so both the professional driver and the motorist can quickly and easily get the services each wants the most. Driver-oriented items, such as the laundry, showers, TV rooms, parts store and fuel desk are in a separate wing accessed from the truck fuel islands.

"Their gateway to the building leads into the convenience store, then tees off to either the main restaurant or the fast food outlets," says George Strickland, TA's director of engineering. "High ceilings in the main areas and good natural lighting enhance the feeling of a lot of personal space for everyone regardless of the traffic at any given time." On the all-important food issue, San Antonio has the widest choice of any truckstop in the area.

The facility took almost two years to complete because of labor shortages and the need to address environmental concerns.

"We knew from experience that some environmental issues -- like rainwater catch basins -- were important, even though local ordinances did not require them," says Strickland. "So we were prepared when the demand for them developed later in the project.

"Each project is overseen by our representative on the spot. Sometimes delays are caused by waiting for specific work crews, with whom we have experience, to become available so we get the quality we want. We have a big investment, and we want it to be a quality product for our customers and the community," Strickland adds.

Then with the flip of a switch, the lights came on, the shakedown cruise began and professional drivers had a new place to call home.

Where: I-10. Exit 583, San Antonio, TX
Phone: (210) 310-0145
Fax: (210) 661-0995
Parking: 240 spaces
Services:

• 147-seat Country Pride Restaurant
  
• Burger King Express,Pizza Hut Express, Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits
  
• Travel store
  
• 8 fueling lanes
  
• 10 marble-tiled showers
  
• Permit services
  
• Laundry room
  
• Weigh scales
  
• Drivers' lounge
  
• Video game room
  
• Phone room
  
• Diesel satellite pumps
  
• 4 truck service bays
  
• Emergency road service
  Freightliner ServicePoint
  

For more information, go to www.tatravelcenters.com