More than 780 customers signed a petition to keep the Speedway on Route 72, near the Turnpike entrance, from closing. At the West Cornwall Township supervisors' meeting on Oct. 12, the board's answer was short. At the same meeting, the township engineer reported that a Wawa in Quentin, which went through zoning, conditional use and final plan approval over two years, should start construction this fall.
Together, those two stories explain the Quentin stretch of Route 72 this fall. The changes you can see from the driver's seat were mostly settled in township hearing rooms between 2023 and 2025. The change people are pushing back on now is the only one that was never a township decision.
The Closing Nobody Local Can Stop
According to LebTown's coverage of the Oct. 12 supervisors' meeting, a sign at Speedway Store #45794 says the store will close on Nov. 5. The store sits near the Lebanon-Lancaster county line. A resident who spoke at the meeting said the petition signers included truckers, neighbors, employees of the nearby Renaissance Faire, PennDOT crews and law enforcement.
The supervisors listened but made no promises. Supervisor Dennis Tulli summed up where the township stands:
"We can't interfere with a private business."
The decision came from much higher up. 7-Eleven bought the Speedway chain in a $21 billion deal that closed in 2021. In April 2026, it announced plans to close more than 600 stores across North America, LebTown reported. As of the Oct. 15 report, the store was still open. The Nov. 5 date comes from the posted sign, so check before counting on it either way. If the date holds, the store near the Turnpike entrance will close one week from today.
The Wawa Has Been on Paper Since 2023
Wawa's future spot at Routes 72 and 419 looks nothing like the Speedway situation. Every step there went through a public board, and the site's history is in LebTown's archive.
The site is the former Quentin Riding Club, a tract of roughly 46 acres. The applicant and property owner is Quentin Associates LLC. The redevelopment is called Cavalry at Quentin, and here is how it moved:
| Date | Step |
|---|---|
| August 2023 | Wawa proposed for a 2.49-acre lot, with eight fuel pumps and a 6,606-square-foot store in the first plan |
| Sept. 18, 2023 | Zoning Hearing Board grants special exceptions for the Wawa and for age-restricted apartments |
| March 2024 | Zoning board approves a special exception for an equestrian therapy facility for veterans |
| July 1, 2024 | Supervisors approve the mixed-use conditional-use application |
| July 2025 | Supervisors conditionally approve the final subdivision and land development plan |
| March 2026 | Stormwater excavation and grading underway |
| Oct. 2026 | Underground piping and Route 72 widening, curbing and sidewalks reported complete; Wawa construction expected this fall |
That last row is the change you've already driven past. The new curbing and sidewalks along Route 72 at the site are work the developer did ahead of the store. That fits the conditions the township attached to its 2024 approval, which required the developer to pay for traffic improvements. Township engineer Jeff Steckbeck told supervisors on Oct. 12 that Wawa should start construction this fall. No opening date has been announced.
The Rest of the Lot Is Still Filling In
The Wawa takes up one of the site's six commercial lots. The latest version of the plan, as LebTown described it in March 2026, also includes 140 age-restricted apartments and six single-family homes. The pieces are at different stages:
- Lebanon Federal Credit Union had four commercial lots under contract as of July 2025. The plans then called for administrative, training and community-center space on one lot and a branch with a call center on another. In August 2026, the township expected the credit union's land development plan for its headquarters, branch and parking to arrive later that month.
- A car wash came up in August 2026, when RGS Associates, the firm developing the overall site, asked about adding one on the last vacant commercial lot. So far that's an inquiry, not an approval.
- The veterans' equestrian therapy facility was approved as a concept in 2024. It includes a two-story building with an indoor arena, a caretaker apartment, up to six horses, pastures and gathering space for veterans and their families. The township's approval required that it be run by a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
So the corner of Routes 72 and 419 will probably keep changing well after the Wawa opens. Each remaining piece still has to go through the same township process the Wawa did.
The Paving Has Its Own Deadline
The resurfacing on Route 72 is a separate project. PennDOT is running it, and its calendar has nothing to do with the riding club site. According to PennDOT's Sept. 24 release, Pennsy Supply Company of Harrisburg holds the $7,009,000 contract. The work covers Route 72 from the Lancaster County line in West Earl Township to Rocherty Road in North Cornwall Township, plus the stretch where Route 322 runs together with Route 72. Along with milling and paving, the contract includes base replacement, guiderail and drainage work, new signs and new pavement markings.
The overnight detours from Sept. 29 through Oct. 1 are done. PennDOT expects to finish the whole project by Dec. 3, 2026. Most of the work happens at night, with single-lane restrictions and some overnight ramp closures still possible. PennDOT says it will put out a new release before any detour. Cornwall Borough's website has reposted those notices before. For live conditions, 511PA shows traffic cameras and delay alerts.
Quentin Village Gets a Parking Lot It Still Has to Decide How to Use
A block off the highway, the township has built something of its own. West Cornwall finished a 26-space lot at 67 W. Main St. in Quentin, with 24 car spaces and two motorcycle spaces. The township bought the historic half-acre corner property at Zinns Mill Road and Route 419 in May 2024. It put in sidewalks and curbing before paving and has described the lot as parking for Quentin businesses and their customers, and possibly for village residents.
What's still undecided is how the spaces will work. As of the Oct. 12 meeting, supervisors were weighing two options, leasing spaces to local businesses or metering them. Unlike the Speedway, this one is the township's call, and it will be made at a public meeting.
The same Oct. 12 meeting finished up another project nearby. The Scenic Ridge playground in Quentin is renovated, inspected and paid for, at about $101,000. It now has a play structure with a shade canopy and two pickleball courts. Supervisors also asked the township solicitor to draft a food truck ordinance for their review.
The Dates to Keep on the Fridge
The next five weeks along this stretch of road, in order:
- Thursday, Oct. 29, 6 to 8 p.m. West Cornwall Township trick-or-treat.
- Thursday, Nov. 5. The closing date posted on the sign at Speedway Store #45794.
- Monday, Nov. 9, 6:30 p.m. The next West Cornwall Township supervisors' meeting, at 73 S. Zinns Mill Road. It's open to the public, and no registration is needed.
- Thursday, Dec. 3. PennDOT's target date for finishing the Route 72/322 resurfacing.
At that Nov. 9 meeting, the Quentin parking lot and the next Cavalry at Quentin filings could come up, and either one could change what this corner looks like a year from now.
If you live off Route 72 and wonder what the Wawa, the credit union and the new parking lot might mean for your own street, Sarah Lingle watches these township decisions closely and is happy to talk through what's planned near you. Schedule a free consultation, and bring your questions about the corridor.
