Transportation boss vows Pike fix

The state’s top transportation official has ordered a top-to-bottom overhaul of the scandal-scarred Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, including new financial controls to help dig the agency out of a $2 billion debt as it prepares to hike tolls next year.
Transportation Secretary Bernard Cohen also called for the development of a new maintenance plan for metropolitan roadways and the Big Dig, a nod to the shocking oversight breakdown that led to the Interstate 90 tunnel ceiling collapse that killed motorist Milena Del Valle.

“This is a turnaround situation as far as I’m concerned,” Cohen said, citing the Turnpike’s deep financial and legal troubles. “All of these woes have taken a toll on this agency and left it with a damaged reputation, an unclear mission and an uncertain future.”

During a press conference yesterday, Cohen announced the appointment of Mary Jane O’Meara - currently director of Tobin Bridge operations - as interim executive director of the Turnpike Authority starting July 1. He said he will continue to search for a permanent executive director while he seeks to increase the job’s salary to as much as $190,000 from the current $140,000.
State Sen. Steve Baddour (D-Methuen), co-chairman of the Legislature’s transportation committee, said he’s “disappointed” an executive director could not be found for the lower salary, but added, “To me, it’s more important we get a professional as opposed to a hack.”
Salaries for similar positions in New York and New Jersey are on the lower end of the proposed range. In those states, highway chiefs make $165,000 and $150,000, respectively. In Pennsylvania, which has a much larger highway system, the turnpike director makes $184,000.
Cohen said immediate measures will include new monthly financial reports, a top-to-bottom organizational review and development of a maintenance plan for the Big Dig and surrounding roadways.
Source :http://news.bostonherald.com