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Brace yourself for a hot and sticky Friday, with a round of thunderstorms later in the day. The National Weather Service has a simulation of the expected timing here.
But first, the news:
Pit stop pushback: Massachusetts is planning a makeover for its highway rest stops — the biggest transformation of the plazas since they were built in the 1950s. But there’s a simmering controversy over the company picked to do it. And yesterday, a Waltham company that says it unfairly lost out on the massive redevelopment contract announced it filed a formal complaint with the State Ethics Commission. Here’s what we know about the dispute:
- The deal: Last month, the MassDOT Board of Directors voted to award a 35-year contract to the Irish company Applegreen to refurbish and operate 18 rest stops. That includes demolishing and rebuilding most of the Mass. Pike’s rest stops, from Lee to Framingham. Their plan also includes themed regional “coastal,” “metro” and “western” designs. (You can scroll through the renderings here.)
- The main complaint? Waltham-based Global Partners argues it offered a better deal. The fuel supply company, which already operates some state rest stops, said it would pay $1.5 billion in rent and invest $650 million into rest stop improvements, compared to the $1 billion in rent and $750 million in improvements that Applegreen committed. It also planned to partner with the nonprofit CommonWealth Kitchen and local companies like Anna’s Taqueria and Pressed Café to sell food. “We weren’t imagining more of the same old fast food and cookie-cutter convenience stores,” Jen Faigel, the executive director of CommonWealth Kitchen, said in a statement. “We were envisioning something bold: a reimagined model for public infrastructure.”
- Why did the state go in a different direction? A MassDOT spokesperson cited Applegreen’s “significant capital investment, faster timeline, commitment to fully rebuild nine service plazas” and “proven track record in other states.” The company is finishing a similar project in New York and has partnered with Boston’s Suffolk Construction to rebuild Massachusetts’ rest stops. According to MassDOT, Applegreen was the company most prepared to take over the leases in January and expects to finish the rebuilt plazas by the end of 2028.
- Getting messy: In yesterday’s complaint, Global Partners accused Scott Bosworth, the MassDOT official who oversaw the procurement, of conflicts of interest. It alleges Bosworth talked to Applegreen’s private equity owners, Blackstone, about job opportunities during the process and requested the Ethics Commissions launch a inquiry into his conduct. (It also noted that Bosworth has faced conflict-of-interest questions in the past.) “The public deserves to know that billion-dollar plus decisions are made based on facts, not favoritism,” said the complaint.
- What MassDOT is saying: Officials say the procurement process followed national best practices, aided by outside experts and weighed by a state selection committee. Still, in a statement Friday, a spokesperson told WBUR that MassDOT “takes any allegations of a conflict of interest seriously” and plans to review them. “We are committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity, transparency and accountability in all our operations,” the statement said.
Heads up: A series of partial weekend Orange Line closures begins tomorrow. The MBTA is suspending trains from Back Bay up to Medford’s Wellington station all day Saturday and Sunday so crews can be updating the old analog signal system. Identical shutdowns are also planned for three of the next four weekends (Aug. 2-3, Aug. 9-10 and Aug. 23-24).
- How to get around it: Free shuttle buses will replace trains between Wellington and North Station, including an express shuttle that loops directly back and forth between the two stations. But you’ll have to take the Green Line for service between North Station and Back Bay. (The Haverhill commuter rail line will also be free from Oak Grove to North Station.)
On Beacon Hill: The Massachusetts Senate plans to vote on its bill to ban cellphones in school next Thursday. Senate President Karen Spilka announced the vote yesterday, calling cellphones the “most distracting devices ever created.” The legislation would require school districts to create policies to ban students from accessing their phones during the school day, starting with the 2026-27 school year. (It would allow some exceptions, such as for emergencies.)
- Gov. Maura Healey has expressed support for the school cellphone ban, but House Speaker Ron Mariano has yet to take a definitive stance on the issue.
P.S.— Why was the front entrance of the Massachusetts State House closed off this week? Take our Boston News Quiz and test your knowledge of our recent stories.
