A new loo in the Soo for you

SAULT STE MARIE, Ont. — Some headlines just write themselves.

Truckers headed along the Trans-Canada through the Soo will have a place to get serviced, fed, washed and rested, thanks to one of Canada’s veteran truckstop developers.

Vidya Sagar Aggarwal, a 74-year-old entrepreneur who built his first gas station in Ottawa almost 40 years ago, just got the rezoning green light from The Soo’s Planning Division.

Now he will draw up plans and work to get City Council’s approval, but he’s confident he will have few problems.

It’s a long way between serious truckstops in Northern Ontario — the distance between Nairn Centre and Nipigon is about 850 clicks by Google’s reckoning. The Soo facility would be about one quarter the way along that route.

"The are needs this. Right now there’s only standalone cardlocks; no bathrooms, no restaurants." he said. "That’s why so many drivers have to take those plastic bottles with them."

Aggarwal intends to develop about 60 acres of land by next year.

He says he will contract out the operation of the truck stop and he is currently negotiating with fuel companies to determine which one would provide the diesel.

He knows from where he speaks. If you’ve motored in Ontario, you’ve already availed yourself of Aggarwal’s truck stops.
Over the years, he developed stops in Mississauga, Ottawa, Pickering, South River, Carleton Place as well as 35 other locations.