Two pieces of legislation signed this summer authorize the state to smooth out its fragmented transportation structure. Currently, one authority runs the major airport and the port, another the Big Dig-- the state's huge highway project--and still another the state's small airports. The authorities answer to boards, not the governor or transportation secretary. "Other states do a better job, by and large, of coordinating what they're doing," Grabauskas says.
Under the new plan, the transportation secretary will have more power, becoming chairman of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority and the Massachusetts Aeronautics Commission on July 1, 2007. The secretary will also be a member of the port's board.
The reforms are expected to bring efficiencies, cost savings and better service delivery. But Governor Mitt Romney didn't get everything he'd asked for. He wanted a single highway department, but the turnpike authority, which manages a 138-mile road, will not be merged with the highway department, which manages about 4,000 miles of road. That means that each entity will still have its own salt shed, its own workers mowing lawns, and its own human resources and IT departments. Grabauskas bemoans that duplication and says the administration will continue to push for the two to merge.
