The Road to Reform

MassDOT Board, Leadership Announced

Governor Deval Patrick today announced the appointment of five transportation and finance experts to the new Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) Board. Stand-outs in their respective fields, the Board members will lead the streamlined transportation organization that goes into effect on November 1.

On Monday, the Governor will formally swear in John R. Jenkins, Ferdinand Alvaro, Janice Loux, Elizabeth Levin and Andrew Whittle as Board members.

• John R. Jenkins, a Natick resident, will serve as Chair of the MassDOT Board and was a former Massachusetts Turnpike Authority Board member.
• Professor Andrew Whittle, a geotechnical engineer, currently serves as Department Head of the Massachusetts Institute for Technology’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
• Elizabeth Levin is President of Liz Levin & Company, a management consulting company that serves the transportation, design and environment community.
• Ferdinand Alvaro is Partner-in-Charge of the Adorno & Yoss LLP Boston office and Co-Chair of the National Business Law Group. He previously served on the board of directors of the MBTA.
• Janice Loux is the first female president of UNITE HERE! Local 26, representing more than 6,300 hotel and food service workers in metropolitan Boston and was a member of the board of directors of the MBTA for 12 years under five governors.

"These private and public-sector leaders will be responsible for overseeing the historic reforms underway in our state’s transportation system,” said Governor Patrick. “Working together with Incoming Secretary and CEO Jeffrey Mullan, their charge will be to achieve cost-savings, enhance customer service and improve safety across our transportation networks. I am confident they will get the job done."

The Governor will establish a 20-member Advisory Counsel to the Board. The Counsel will be led by Alan MacDonald, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Business Roundtable, and is designed to ensure the Board receives guidance and input from a broad array of statewide stakeholders.

Governor Patrick and Incoming Secretary and CEO Jeffrey Mullan also named the following Administrators of MassDOT’s four divisions: Luisa Paiewonsky, Highway Division Administrator; William Mitchell, Acting Rail & Transit Administrator; Christopher Willenborg, Aeronautics Division Administrator; and Rachel Kaprielian, Registry of Motor Vehicles Division Administrator.

On Wednesday, November 4th, the Governor will release a financial analysis of the MBTA conducted by former John Hancock executive David D'Alessandro. Citing concerns about finances, safety and management, Governor Patrick commissioned the top-to-bottom review of the MBTA in August.

MassDOT Board First Meeting

MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
INITIAL BOARD MEETING

The MassDOT Board will consider adoption of the new Department by-laws among other initial recommended actions. Incoming MassDOT Secretary and CEO Jeffrey Mullan will address the Board.

View the complete MassDOT Board agenda here.

MassDOT Website Launch November 1st

As part of the historic transportation reform underway, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) will launch a new customer-focused website, www.mass.gov/massdot at 12:01am on November 1, 2009.

The new website design, developed in-house by a team of employees, provides information and links for all transportation agencies in one place, with four main sections for the four new transportation divisions (Highway, Rail & Transit, Aeronautics and Registry of Motor Vehicles). A new transportation calendar will provide residents and businesses with a single location to view public events and hearings hosted by MassDOT.

RMV CUSTOMER ALERT: The Registry of Motor Vehicles Division home page design will be updated to reflect the new MassDOT webpage design so frequent online customers and returning customers should not be alarmed at the change in design. The existing RMV URL www.mass.gov/rmv will auto-forward directly to the new RMV home page.

Residents and tourists will not experience significant changes in their commutes and travels on November 1. The MBTA website at www.mbta.com and Regional Transit Authority website designs will not change.

As promised as of October 31st, former Turnpike and MassHighway Department cameras have been merged into one online state Highway Division traffic camera page at www.mass.gov/511/cameras where residents and commuters can view live traffic cameras throughout the highway system. Previously, MHD cameras were available on one website and Turnpike cameras were available on a totally separate site.

Federal Stimulus: Patrick Announces $165 Million Priorities

Governor Deval Patrick this week released a list of 33 priority federal stimulus projects with total value of more than $165.6 million, that the Patrick-Murray Administration is proposing to fund in the second round of highway investment under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The projects are spread throughout the Commonwealth and will create jobs, promote regional economic growth and boost communities and transit options.

Many of the 33 projects still need state Metropolitan Planning Organization approval. When approved and advertised for bid, they would complete the Patrick-Murray Administration's investment of the $437.9 million in ARRA highway funds allocated to the state by the federal government.

The projects include a $3.6 million bike path connector for the Alewife Greenway Corridor, $7.5 million in improvements to Worcester's Canal District, and $10 million "flex" of highway dollars to support improvements in MBTA bus service. Other projects long-term economic development, including $8.1 million to make improvements to a connector road that will allow better redevelopment of downtown Quincy by separating local traffic from thru traffic, $8.4 million to make improvements to Lynn's Blossom Street Ferry Terminal to support a commuter ferry and development in downtown Lynn, and $15 million in roadway, bike and pedestrian improvements to support the Assembly Square redevelopment project in Somerville.

Learn more about federal stimulus transportation investments.

MassDOT Quick Fact

• The Tobin Bridge joins the MassDOT Highway Division on January 1, 2010.
• The landmark 2.25 mile Tobin Bridge opened to traffic in 1950.
• The Tobin Bridge had 3.8 million electronic and 2.6 million cash toll transactions in the first seven months of 2009.