Oklahoma City-based Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores Inc. says it recently obtained building permits for a $7.5 million, 24-hour truck stop it plans to build this spring and summer on 10 acres of land it bought two years ago in the Expo at Post Falls development, in west Post Falls.

The facility will include a fueling station and a 10,000-square-foot commercial structure that will house a convenience store and a Carl's Jr. restaurant, says Kyla Turner, Love's communications manager. It also will have a separate 1,200-square-foot structure for truck-tire sales and repairs, she says.

"As long as the weather cooperates, we're looking to open in early September," Turner says.

W.H. Bass Inc., of Duluth, Ga., is the contractor on the project, and Pascal Aughtry & Associates PLLC, of Oklahoma City, designed it.

The site is located on the south side of Expo Parkway, northwest of the Pleasant View Road-Interstate 90 interchange, about a mile east of the big Cabela's Inc. sporting goods outlet.

"We expect it to be a high-traffic location," Turner says.

Turner says the truck stop will hire a mix of 40 to 50 part- and full-time employees.

The truck stop will have 16 fueling pumps for autos and eight pumps for commercial trucks, as well as about 90 spaces for overnight truck parking, she says.

Love's operates more than 200 outlets in more than 30 states. One of its competitors is Knoxville, Tenn.-based Pilot Flying J, which operates a travel plaza with a fueling station, convenience store, restaurant, and truck parking a few blocks east of the Love's site in Post Falls.