The Department of Transportation will rebid the service plaza contract that led to a messy public fight between the original contract winner, Applegreen, and the local company Global Partners, Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver said Wednesday.
Gulliver told the MassDOT Board that his Highway Division will also take over day-to-day management of the service plazas in question “for enforcement of contract key performance indicators.”
MassDOT will begin extension talks with current service plaza operators immediately to minimize disruptions from the delay caused by the contract rebid, he said.
“After careful evaluation of all risks and options, MassDOT has determined that reprocuring the service plaza contract will deliver the highest quality facilities and services for travelers while ensuring the best value for taxpayers and toll payers,” a presentation Gulliver made to the board said.
He said the board would get an update at its next meeting with more information on the timeline expected for a rebid and on the MassDOT takeover of service plaza management. The ongoing review of the first failed procurement will inform the revised request for proposals, Gulliver said.
The MassDOT board awarded the contract to redevelop and run 18 service plazas across the state to Irish retailer Applegreen in June, but the company backed out of contract talks as rival bidder Global Partners waged media, legal, and public relations offensives to block the MassDOT-Applegreen deal. Pressure also came from Beacon Hill -- the Senate Post Audit Committee was set to hold an oversight hearing on the selection process, and Chairman Mark Montigny had urged MassDOT to put it back out to bid.
Gov. Maura Healey has said that MassDOT “ran a transparent process” and said she was focused on getting the best services and deal for Bay Staters in the “major contract for the state.”
Gulliver’s update to the MassDOT board was marred by technological problems, and the audio of his statements was garbled on the meeting livestream.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Brian Shortsleeve said in a statement that MassDOT cannot be trusted.
“There is a complete lack of transparency. The agency would have pushed forward with a shortchanging of $900 million in revenue for the state if they had not been caught. There needs to be a full investigation into the original award,” Shortsleeve said.
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