Massachusetts Port Authority

Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) is a 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;[1] 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.[2]

Massachusetts Port Authority
AbbreviationMassport
Formation1956
TypeGovernment Agency
HeadquartersEast Boston, Massachusetts
Region served
Greater Boston
Lisa Wieland
Budget
>$800 million
Staff
1,300
Websitemassport.com

History

The Massachusetts Port Authority was created in 1956 by the Massachusetts General Court to replace the locally controlled port commission;[3][4] however, the Authority was not enabled until 1959,[5] due to delay in bond funding.[6] The Authority is an independent public authority, not a state agency.[5]

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.[7]

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.[8]

Massport facilities

Airports

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:[11]

  • 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
A Logan Airport shuttle bus on the#22 route, which serves Terminals A and B, in the busway at Airport station

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.[12]

  • 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,[13] Massport started running a Logan Express to the Hynes Convention Center and Copley Square[14] in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston.[15] 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.[16]

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.[17]

Other services

By state law, municipal police (such as the Boston Police Department) do not have jurisdiction on Massport property.[18] Police protection is provided by the Massachusetts State Police and the Massport Police. Massport Fire Rescue provides fire protection on agency property.[19]

Executive directors

References
  1. "COMPREHENSIVE ANNUAL FINANCIAL REPORT" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on April 17, 2015.
  2. "About Massport: Who We Are: Contact Info Archived 2010-01-13 at the Wayback Machine." Massachusetts Port Authority. Retrieved on January 22, 2010.
  3. Chapter 465 of the Acts of 1956. Section 2.
  4. "Pot Authority Effective Now, Herter To Name 7 Promptly". The Berkshire Eagle. Pittsfield, Massachusetts. AP. June 21, 1956. Retrieved February 13, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  5. "FAQs". massport.com. Retrieved February 13, 2018.
  6. "Port Bill Signed, Hailed As Tax Relief". The Berkshire Eagle. Pittsfield, Massachusetts. UPI. October 6, 1958. Retrieved February 13, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  7. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-07-02. Retrieved 2007-04-28.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. Chesto, Jon (2019-06-27). "Lisa Wieland will serve as Massport's new chief executive". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  9. Chapter 25 of the Acts of 2009. Section 148.
  10. Massport (June 22, 2010). "Massport, Worcester Airport Deal Completed". Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MASSDOT). Retrieved June 26, 2010.
  11. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-08-13. Retrieved 2009-08-17.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  12. "Shuttle Service at Boston Logan International Airport". www.massport.com.
  13. "Buses to make Back Bay to Logan run". December 17, 2013.
  14. "Back Bay Logan Express Information". www.massport.com.
  15. "Logan Express bus service". www.massport.com.
  16. "If you take this bus to Logan Airport, Massport will let you cut the security line - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com.
  17. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-04-17. Retrieved 2016-09-02.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  18. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-08-22. Retrieved 2010-10-12.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  19. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-10-09. Retrieved 2010-10-12.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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