The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) on Oct. 16 announced that Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) General Manager Phil Eng has been named as Interim Transportation Secretary following Monica Tibbits-Nutt’s decision to step down from her position as MassDOT Secretary and CEO. Tibbits-Nut, who plans to return to private industry, has agreed to continue to serve as an advisor through Dec. 31, 2025, “to ensure a smooth and efficient transition for MassDOT.”
Eng will serve as both Interim Secretary and General Manager during this time. Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver has also been promoted to Undersecretary of Transportation. He will retain his role as Highway Administrator while also taking on expanded responsibilities as Undersecretary.
“A well-balanced multimodal transportation network is essential. MassDOT and the MBTA work hand-in-hand to make sure our transportation system is safe, reliable and modernized,” said Eng. “I look forward to taking on this interim role with MassDOT and working even more closely with Undersecretary Gulliver and their great team to deliver the world-class transportation system that the people of Massachusetts and our visitors deserve. I’m grateful for the partnership of Monica Tibbits-Nutt these past few years and her strong support of the reforms we have made at the T. It is an honor and privilege to serve every community across Massachusetts as part of Governor Healey’s Administration.”
Governor Maura Healey appointed Eng as General Manager of the MBTA in March 2023. Since then, he has overseen a “transformative period” at the nation’s fourth largest public transit system, “enhancing safety, reliability, accessibility and service.” Under his leadership, the MBTA “eliminated all subway speed restrictions for the first time in more than 20 years, opened South Coast Rail to deliver rail service to Southeastern Massachusetts for the first time in 65 years, continuing the highest return to ridership rate in the nation on commuter rail with all day frequent train service, delivering new modern Orange and Red Line cars while accelerating modernization of the signal system on those lines, and hiring thousands of labor workforce to rebuild the MBTA to better serve the riding public, communities and businesses with shorter travel times and more frequent service.”
Eng started his career at the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) beginning in 1983 as a Junior Engineer. Over the course of three decades Eng held many roles, including planning, in-house design, and bridge inspection, including the four East River Bridges (Brooklyn, Williamsburg, Manhattan and Ed Koch Queensboro Bridges), Maintenance and Operations. He ultimately served as Executive Deputy Commissioner and Chief Engineer from 2013-2017, delivering multiple projects, including the Mario M. Cuomo Tappan Zee Bridge and Kosciuszko Bridge. He then served as Chief Operating Officer of the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) where he oversaw “successful efforts to improve performance and efficiency across all agencies,” including New York City Transit (NYCT), Metro-North Railroad, Long Island Rail Road and MTA Bridges and Tunnels.
Eng was then tapped to serve as Interim President of NYC Transit, where he led a workforce of 50,000 employees and was “integral to initiating and implementing the $836 million Subway Action Plan to fix aging infrastructure and improve performance across the system. “
From 2018-2022, Eng served as President of the MTA Long Island Rail Road, where he managed a system of 7,600 employees and a $1.6 billion operating budget. He then served as Executive Vice President of the LiRo Group, where he advised public and private sector clients on engineering, transportation, and infrastructure projects.
