The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) has reopened bidding for 18 highway service plazas across the state, introducing new oversight and a revised contract structure after last year’s procurement collapsed under legal challenges and criticism over how the winning bidder was selected.
State transportation officials are taking a new approach by bundling the plazas into three separate groups, allowing interested parties to submit bids on one, two or all three bundles. Officials say the structure is designed to encourage competition and give bidders more flexibility in how the facilities could be developed and operated.
A public-private partnership (P3) commission created under Massachusetts law is also being reassembled to oversee the procurement process. Gov. Maura Healey will appoint four members to the commission, while the Senate president, House speaker and state treasurer will each select one member to review the revised bidding process.
The process comes under added scrutiny after last year’s procurement efforts unraveled. MassDOT selected Ireland-based Applegreen for a 35-year lease covering all 18 service plazas, with plans to demolish and rebuild half the buildings while renovating the rest. Contract negotiations later collapsed after a legal challenge from Waltham-based Global Partners, the losing bidder.
Global Partners argued the bidding process was unfair, saying it outbid Applegreen by roughly $1 billion and alleging improper contact involving the selection committee chair and the owner of Suffolk Construction. Applegreen later withdrew from the contract, prompting MassDOT to restart the procurement.
The state inspector general identified major weaknesses in last year’s procurement, and the Senate Committee on Post Audit and Oversight plans to question senior MassDOT officials at a March 24 hearing as its own investigation continues. After that testimony, MassDOT will host an Industry Day event on March 25, where transportation officials will brief potential operators, designers, builders, consultants and contractors on the project. Feedback gathered from the event will be used to guide the department’s upcoming request for proposals (RFP), which is scheduled for release this summer.
Officials say a new operator is anticipated by early 2027, with new leases taking effect July 1, 2027.
The plazas, many of them along the Massachusetts Turnpike and other major routes, are expected to remain under current lease arrangements until the new contracts take effect. State officials said the updated procurement is intended to produce cleaner facilities, broader food choices and more consistent service statewide.
Photo by 4300streetcar, CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0, from Wikimedia Commons
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