HMSHost Corp. — a provider of travel food, beverage and retail concessions — announced Friday, Aug. 4, that the company has been awarded a contract to redevelop 18 travel plazas along the Pennsylvania Turnpike. The Turnpike Commission selected HMSHost’s proposal following a competitive process that included all major industry participants. The new contract term is 30 years, with estimated revenues to exceed $3.5 billion over the life of the contract.
Stretching about 530 miles, the Turnpike system is used by more than 190 million vehicles per year. As part of the new agreement, HMSHost plans to spend more than $100 million to revitalize the Turnpike travel plazas with new, larger buildings that incorporate Pennsylvania architecture and materials. Travel plaza visitors can expect to see food courts with natural lighting that feature both national and regional restaurants, full-service convenience stores and larger restrooms with increased lighting and touch-free technology. Other plaza improvements will include outdoor dining areas, landscaped grounds with pet walking paths and security systems.
“The commission and HMSHost have enjoyed a long business partnership servicing the travelers on the Pennsylvania Turnpike,” says Joe Brimmeier, chief executive officer of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission. “We look forward to continuing our relationship with HMSHost and appreciate their financial commitment to our travel plaza redevelopment project.” Brimmeier says the redevelopment will be phased in over the next five to six years to minimize disruption of service to customers of the Pennsylvania Turnpike system.
Regular redevelopment updates which will be posted on the Turnpike website at www.paturnpike.com.
