Monica Tibbits-Nutt just celebrated her one-year anniversary as Massachusetts’ secretary of transportation.
“We’ve been able to actually do a lot of projects that have been very difficult, and been able to do them in a way that I don’t think the public ever thought we could,” she told Boston Public Radio on Friday.
“We can do big projects,” she later added.
Under Tibbits-Nutt’s leadership, the Sumner Tunnel project is finishing ahead of schedule. The planned two-month closure this summer was cut to just one month. And weekend closures to finish the work are expected to end by October — two months earlier than expected.
In detailing plans for the state’s transportation infrastructure, she also highlighted progress on the East-West Rail project, a long-awaited passenger rail service connecting Boston to Pittsfield and Albany, New York.
“Once you get outside of the inner core, there aren’t a lot of rail options. And we’re continuing to move forward with that project,” Tibbits-Nutt said.
The $108 million part of the project to connect Boston to Springfield is scheduled for completion in 2028, she said.
Regarding the Cape Cod bridges, Tibbits-Nutt assured that the $1.74 billion allocated is “more than enough” for the required upgrades to the Sagamore Bridge, and would help fund planning for updates to the Bourne Bridge. She also emphasized that Massachusetts maintains a high standard of safety for its bridges.
“We have no unsafe bridges in Massachusetts,” she said.
She also praised the recent launch of the MBTA Income-Eligible Reduced Fare Program. Tibbits-Nutt credited Gov. Maura Healey’s administration and the Legislature for their role in securing funding for this initiative.
“This has been something that we’ve been pushing for, and the amount of difference this is going to make — for millions of riders — is amazing,” she said.
Tibbits-Nutt briefly discussed the challenges of implementing late-night T service and a North-South Rail Link, saying there’s more research needed to evaluate the feasibility of implementing both projects.
“North-South Rail, this is a project that’s been talked about for 20-plus years,” Tibbits-Nutt said. “What we’re doing now is really putting together what it would take for MassDOT to do a feasibility test of that project.”
