Massachusetts Port Authority

Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) is an American port authority in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It owns and operates three airports—Logan International Airport, Hanscom Field, and Worcester Regional Airport—and public terminals in the Port of Boston. It is a financially self-sustaining public authority whose transportation facilities generate more than $600 million annually; no state tax dollars are used to fund operations or capital improvements at Massport facilities. Its headquarters is located in the Logan Office Center, adjacent to Logan Airport in East Boston, Massachusetts.

History

The Massachusetts Port Authority was created in 1956 by the Massachusetts General Court to replace the locally controlled port commission; however, the Authority was not enabled until 1959, due to delay in bond funding. The Authority is an independent public authority, not a state agency.

In 1966, Castle Island Container Terminal was constructed for Sea-Land Corporation, one of the first intermodal container facilities. In 1971, the Authority constructed a second container port in Charlestown for the use of other shipping companies. In 1980, Sea-Land ended its exclusive lease, and the first container port was enlarged and made available for other shipping companies.

On January 1, 2010, the Tobin Bridge was transferred from the Authority to the new Massachusetts Department of Transportation.

In June 2019, by a vote of 5-to-2, Massport's board of directors selected the current port director to serve as the authority's chief executive. She will be earning a salary of $360,000-a-year and is scheduled to start the new position in September 2019.

List of Previous Executive directors

* John F. O'Halloran: 1959–1963
* Edward J. King: 1963–1974
* Edward Hanley (interim): 1974–1975
* David W. Davis: 1975–1983
* Lou Nickinello: 1983
* David W. Davis: 1983–1990
* Alden S. Raine: 1990–1993
* Stephen Tocco: 1993–1997
* Peter I. Blute: 1997–1999
* Virginia Buckingham: 2000–2001
* Craig Coy: 2002–2006
* Thomas J. Kinton Jr.: 2006–2011
* David S. Mackey (acting): 2011–2012
* Thomas P. Glynn: 2012–2018
* John Pranckevicius (acting): 2018–2019
* Lisa Wieland: 2019–present

Massport facilities

Airports

* Logan International Airport
* Hanscom Field
* Worcester Regional Airport – Formerly owned by the city of Worcester until ownership transfer to Massport was mandated by law in 2009, and subsequently completed on June 22, 2010.

Seaports and maritime facilities

The Port of Boston includes Cruiseport Boston and facilities in the Boston Marine Industrial Park in South Boston, and others in East Boston and Charlestown:
* Flynn Cruiseport Boston (formerly the Black Falcon Cruise Terminal), One Black Falcon Avenue, South Boston
* Paul W. Conley Terminal, First & Farragut Road, South Boston - Container port
* Boston Autoport, Charlestown - Automobile shipping, leased to private operator.
* The Boston Fish Pier, South Boston - Seafood processing, acquired in 1972.
* Mystic Piers 48,49 and 50, Charlestown - Used for bulk storage and shipping of salt since the 1980s
* Medford Street Terminal, Charlestown - Dock, office, and warehouse areas, purchased in 1986 from Revere Sugar Refinery and Somerville Lumber.
* East Boston Shipyard and Marina - Marginal Street, East Boston - Former Navy and Bethlehem Steel site, equipped for ship repair.
* Massport Marine Terminal (MMT)/North Jetty, South Boston - Used for Big Dig staging, berths now available. Being developed for seafood processing.
* Fargo Street Terminal, South Boston - Storage and support activities
* International Cargo Terminal, 88 Black Falcon Avenue, South Boston - Warehouses and office space

Transportation services

Massport Shuttle

The Massport Shuttle connects all terminals at Boston Logan International Airport to Airport Station on the MBTA Blue Line, as well as the water transportation dock on Harborside Drive and the Rental Car Center.
* 11 serves terminals A, B, C and E (no subway station stop)
* 22 serves terminals A and B to subway station and rental car center. (during midday peak hours)
* 33 serves terminals C and E to subway station and rental car center. (during midday peak hours)
* 55 serves all terminals, subway station and rental car center. (during early morning and late evening off-peak hours)
* 66 serves all terminals, subway station and water transportation dock.
* 88 serves all terminals and the economy parking garage.

Logan Express

Massport also operates Logan Express bus service between all terminals and park-and-ride lots in Braintree (near South Shore Plaza), Framingham ( Shopper's World), Woburn (Anderson Regional Transportation Center), and Peabody (164 Newbury Street). In 2014, with the closure of the Government Center subway station, Massport started running a Logan Express to the Hynes Convention Center and Copley Square in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston. Even after Government Center reopened in 2016, the shuttle service to Back Bay continues to operate, and starting in 2019 riders of that shuttle got priority in the TSA security line.

Silver Line

Massport provides financial assistance to the MBTA for operation of the Silver Line Bus Rapid Transit service to Logan terminals from downtown Boston, and contributes to the maintenance of Airport Station and ventilation of the Ted Williams Tunnel.

Law Enforcement

Massport Police

The Massachusetts Port Authority maintains its own police force of certified and sworn law enforcement officers. They work in conjunction with the Massachusetts State Police—Troop F who also provide law enforcement services for Massport. Massport police officers also known as "Port Officers" are responsible for physical security and law enforcement at the marine terminals, Boston's Seaport District, East Boston parks and various other properties and lands owned by the authority. The Massport Police Department is also responsible for the safety and security of the passengers and vessels which call on the Port of Boston through the Flynn Cruise Port and Paul W. Conley Cargo Container Terminal, in adherence with federal regulations and law enforcement requirements set forth by the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002.

By state law, municipal police (such as the Boston Police Department) do not have jurisdiction on Massport property.

See also

*Port Authority of New York and New Jersey

References

Further reading

* (CEO of Massport on September 11, 2001)

External links

*
*
Massport Community Advisory Committee
an agency representing communities impacted by Massport's operations.
* . (Various documents).

{{Authority control

1956 establishments in Massachusetts
Airport operators of the United States
East Boston
Government agencies established in 1956
Organizations based in Boston
Port authorities in the United States
Port Authority
Transportation in Boston