Applegreen accelerates US expansion with $70m investment in Colorado

Applegreen to invest $70m in new highway service plazas in Colorado.

Applegreen has revealed a $70m investment plan to build four new service plazas along the E-470 highway in Denver, Colorado.

The Irish-headquartered roadside retail operator will be responsible for the construction, operation, and maintenance of the facilities under a 50-year agreement with the E-470 Public Highway Authority.

Each service plaza will feature three branded food and beverage outlets, an Applegreen convenience store, fuelling infrastructure, Applegreen Electric EV chargers, seating areas, and restrooms.

“We are delighted to be partnering with E-470 on this exciting new project, which extends our footprint in the United States and will bring world-class roadside hospitality facilities to travellers in Colorado,” said Applegreen Chief Executive Joe Barrett.

“We are investing $70m to deliver four new state-of-the-art service plazas in Colorado and will begin construction in the coming days. The first new plaza is expected to be operational by the last quarter of 2026, while the other three will come onstream shortly afterwards.”

What’s driving Applegreen’s $70M expansion into Colorado’s highway infrastructure?

The E-470 is a 47-mile fully tolled public highway that runs along the eastern side of the Denver metropolitan area. The new service plazas will be located at former toll plaza sites that were decommissioned after the highway transitioned to cashless electronic tolling.

“This project has been years in the making and represents a bold new chapter for E-470 and our region,” said Joe Donahue, Executive Director of the E-470 Public Highway Authority.

“We are transforming underutilised infrastructure into something that will directly benefit our customers and communities by providing services they need today and building in flexibility for the future of travel. And we are proud to be making it a reality without relying on any toll revenue or tax dollars.”

Historically, the E-470 has not had any services available directly on the highway, requiring drivers to exit the route for food, fuel, or rest stops.

Barrett said the project reflects Applegreen’s ongoing commitment to delivering high-quality facilities to customers in the United States and to working closely with highway and state authorities.

Applegreen currently operates 113 highway service plazas in the United States. The company is investing $750m to rebuild, remodel, and operate 18 highway service plazas in Massachusetts following a recent contract award. It is also nearing completion of a $450m investment to upgrade all 27 service plazas on the New York State Thruway.

Since entering the US market in 2014 with the acquisition of two sites in Long Island, Applegreen has invested more than €1 billion in the country. It is now one of the largest Irish employers in the United States, with more than 7,000 employees.

The company is also pursuing growth in Ireland and the United Kingdom as part of a €1 billion expansion programme over the next five years. This includes acquiring and developing new sites and upgrading existing locations.

In the UK, Applegreen is expanding its Welcome Break business, which operates 60 sites and 31 hotels.

Applegreen employs approximately 16,000 people globally. The company reported a turnover of nearly €4 billion last year and serves around 180m customers annually. It operates nearly 200 locations in Ireland and has a total of more than 430 sites and over 700 branded food offers across its global network.

• Bank of Ireland is welcoming new customers every day – funding investments, working capital and expansions across multiple sectors. To learn more, click here

• For support in challenging times, click here

• Listen to the ThinkBusiness Podcast for business insights and inspiration. All episodes are here. You can also listen to the Podcast on:

• Spotify

• SoundCloud

• Apple