Connecticut Service Plazas

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For years, Connecticut’s 23 highway gas stations and concessions were run by ExxonMobil and McDonald’s. The service plazas (10 on I-95, three on I-395 and 10 on Route 15) were built in the 1940s and 1950s and had no significant capital investment in 25 years. After a study revealed the State could earn up to $11 million more per year by renovating its rest stops, Connecticut held a competition among private parties for the funding, management, and design of its service plazas along I-95 and the Merritt Parkway. As part of the 2009 request for proposals, the State asked for cleaner, safer, LEED-certified buildings that would provide travelers with healthier food choices. In December 2009, Carlyle Group entered into a joint venture called Project Service LLC with Doctor’s Associates, Inc., the parent company of SUBWAY Restaurants. They formed a 35-year public-private partnership with the State of Connecticut to redevelop, operate, and maintain Connecticut’s highway service areas. The partnership took over operations on December 7, 2009, beginning a five-year redevelopment process. The first to be redeveloped was the service area on Route 15 in North Haven, Connecticut. The project created 375 construction and permanent jobs. Enhancements to the service plazas increased facility use, adding expanded gas pumps and state-of-the-art diesel fuel services, and providing motorists more food options, a comfortable dining room, wireless Internet, new bathrooms, more parking, and a convenience store. Three of the existing service plazas were entirely replaced and the remaining 20 underwent an array of renovations. In most cases, the arrangement of fuel islands was changed to accommodate more drivers and offer greater convenience and safety. The project has also led to more payroll and sales taxes for the State. In 2016, the Carlyle Group sold the operating company and remainder of the contract rights to the John Laing Infrastructure Fund.

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