State Plans New Bidding Process for Highway Rest Area Contract
After a messy public fight, the Department of Transportation will rebid the service plaza contract.
The decision comes after Irish retailer Applegreen backed out of contract talks. Rival bidder Global Partners had waged a media, legal, and public relations campaign to block the MassDOT-Applegreen deal.
Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver announced the rebid and said his Highway Division will take over day-to-day management of the service plazas.
MassDOT will begin extension talks with current service plaza operators to minimize disruptions from the delay caused by the contract rebid.
The goal is to ensure enforcement of contract key performance indicators.
Author's summary: State rebids highway rest area contract after public fight.