Gov. Maura Healey said the Massachusetts Department of Transportation conducted a “transparent” procurement process for a major travel plaza contract despite allegations from a losing bidder that improper communications compromised procedures.
State officials awarded Ireland-based Applegreen a deal to manage 18 service plazas, but the company backed out of the contract earlier this month. Applegreen won the contract after Waltham’s Global Partners alleged a key MassDOT official was improperly discussing the deal with officials connected to the Irish business.
Healey said MassDOT “ran a transparent process,” though she did not say whether the transit agency would rebid the service plaza contract or hand it to Global Partners, which had the second-place bid.
“My focus is on making sure th