Pilot’s plan to build truck stop rejected by Mass. town

Pilot’s plan to construct a truck stop in Chicopee, Massachusetts has been halted after a rejection by the city council was upheld by a judge. 

Pilot Travel Centers LLC. applied for a service station license and fuel storage permit for a truck stop on Burnett Road next to the Massachusetts Turnpike and Interstate-291 intersection in Chicopee, Massachusetts back in 2022, reported Western Mass News.

Pilot’s plan was initially rejected by the Chicopee City Council, prompting Pilot Travel Centers LLC. to take the case to court with hopes that the judge would vacate the city council’s decision, reimburse any costs and fees associated with the rejection, and order the council to issue the proposed licenses. 

The city council argued that the truck stop posed safety concerns for residents in the area, and a Hampden Superior Court judge upheld the city council decision, preventing the truck stop from being built. 

“The city did its job and the law department did their job,” said city councilor Mary Beth Pniak Costello.  “After reviewing the facts, the judge ultimately upheld the city council’s ruling…”