SMITHS GROVE — Brisket, beaver nuggets and banana pudding weren’t up for discussion at Tuesday evening’s public meeting in Smiths Grove, but the source of those goodies – the new Buc-ee’s mega-store just off Interstate 65 – monopolized the conversation.

The meeting at the Smiths Grove Volunteer Fire Department headquarters, initiated by Warren County Sheriff Brett Hightower, quickly transitioned from talk about crime-fighting tools to the topic du jour in the historically pastoral city: the impact of Buc-ee’s on traffic and what can be done about it.

Almost overnight, the opening last month of the 53,000-square-foot Buc-ee’s at the Exit 38 interchange with I-65 transformed Smiths Grove’s traffic volume from Mayberry-ish to metropolitan, creating some periodic congestion that has the city’s residents worried.

Despite improvements to the Exit 38 interchange and installation of a roundabout and traffic signal on Ky. 101 that were planned by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and paid for by Buc-ee’s, problems persist at midday and on weekends.

“I’m very concerned about the traffic backing up at busy times all the way to I-65,” Smiths Grove Police Chief Jason Franks said. “I think this meeting was needed. It puts the two sides together.”

The two sides being residents dealing with the hyped-up traffic and the state officials in position to do something about it.

The good news – help may be on the way in the form of a widened Exit 38 ramp, improved signage and road striping, and even an upgrade to the Exit 34 interchange at Oakland that could take some traffic away from the Smiths Grove exit.

“These are growing pains,” said KYTC District 3 Chief Engineer Joe Plunk, who responded to questions at the meeting. “We’re aware of them, and they were not unexpected.”

While saying he wished Buc-ee’s could have done more to improve access to the store, Plunk said some KYTC projects already in the works should help.

Chief among them may be a planned widening of the Exit 38 northbound ramp. State Rep. Michael Meredith, who attended Tuesday’s meeting, said he and other legislators representing Warren County are working on getting the funding for that widening.

“We (the legislative delegation) have all been talking about what we can do to alleviate the situation at the ramp,” Meredith said. “There’s competition for funding, but we can make the case that we need it here from a safety perspective.”

Plunk said other improvements, including possibly changing the current left-turn-only lane heading toward downtown Smiths Grove to a shared lane that could also turn right toward Buc-ee’s, could help traffic flow.

Also in the works are improvements to Ky. 101 (Main Street), including a roundabout at Brown Street in Smiths Grove.

A long-term project that could help is the upgrade to a full northbound-and-southbound interchange of Exit 34 at Oakland.

“The funding is there for the Oakland interchange,” Plunk said. “It would be a complementary interchange to Smiths Grove and give people another option.”

Although the funding has been approved, Plunk said it will probably be two years before exit 34 is operating as a full interchange.

Problems arising from the increased traffic dominated Tuesday’s meeting, but one Smiths Grove resident saw potential benefits arising out of the Buc-ee’s boom.

Monica Wardlow said the city needs to “take advantage of all the traffic brought by Buc-ee’s” by putting up signs along I-65 directing visitors to other Smiths Grove businesses.

Franks said there have been discussions about that topic.

“We’ve talked with tourism people about signage and directing traffic to our historic district and some of our downtown businesses,” he said.

Although he sees the need to address the heavy traffic at peak times, Franks said the improvements already implemented have made the rush of Buc-ee’s fanatics to the store easier to handle.

“The biggest problems are on Saturdays and Sundays,” the police chief said. “The traffic light (on Ky. 101) has helped. Probably 90% of the time, there’s no congestion.”