Frederick "Fred" Peter Salvucci (born April 8, 1940) is an American

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing i ...

and educator, who specializes in transportation issues. Salvucci was the

Secretary of Transportation The United States secretary of transportation is the head of the United States Department of Transportation. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters relating to transportation. The secre ...

for the

Commonwealth of Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

under

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Michael Dukakis Michael Stanley Dukakis ( ; born November 3, 1933) is an American politician and lawyer who served as governor of Massachusetts from 1975 to 1979 and from 1983 to 1991. He is the longest-serving governor in Massachusetts history and only the s ...

, serving a total of 12 years. He is currently a Senior Lecturer at the

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...

Center for Transportation and Logistics.

Career

Born in

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

, Salvucci graduated from

Boston Latin School The Boston Latin School is a Magnet school, magnet Latin schools, Latin Grammar schools, grammar State school, state school in Boston, Massachusetts. It has been in continuous operation since it was established on April 23, 1635. It is the old ...

in 1957. He then attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he received his Bachelor of Science in 1961 and his Master of Science in 1962, both in civil engineering with a specialization in transportation. At MIT, he was a member of Chi Epsilon and the

American Society of Civil Engineers The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) is a tax-exempt professional body founded in 1852 to represent members of the civil engineering profession worldwide. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, it is the oldest national engineering soci ...

. From 1964 to 1965, he spent a year abroad as a

Fulbright Scholar The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the peopl ...

at the

University of Naples Federico II The University of Naples Federico II (; , ) is a public university, public research university in Naples, Campania, Italy. Established in 1224 and named after its founder, Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick II, it is the oldest public, s ...

, where he studied investments in transportation to stimulate economic development in high poverty areas of

Southern Italy Southern Italy (, , or , ; ; ), also known as () or (; ; ; ), is a macroregion of Italy consisting of its southern Regions of Italy, regions. The term "" today mostly refers to the regions that are associated with the people, lands or cultu ...

. From 1970 to 1974, Salvucci served as a transportation advisor to Boston's mayor, Kevin White. He subsequently served two terms as Massachusetts Secretary of Transportation under

from 1975 to 1978 and 1983 to 1990. During his tenure, he gave particular emphasis to the expansion of the transit system, the development of financial and political support for the

Big Dig The Big Dig was a megaproject in Boston that rerouted the then elevated Central Artery of Interstate 93 that cut across Boston into the O'Neill Tunnel and built the Ted Williams Tunnel to extend Massachusetts Turnpike, Interstate 90 to Logan I ...

, and the implementation of strategies in compliance with the Clean Air Act. Other efforts included the extension of the Red Line to Quincy and Alewife, the relocation of the Orange Line to the Southwest Corridor, the acquisition and modernization of

MBTA Commuter Rail The MBTA Commuter Rail system serves as the commuter rail arm of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's (MBTA's) transportation coverage of Greater Boston in the United States. Trains run over of track on 12 lines to 142 stations. It ...

, the restructuring of the

MBTA The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (abbreviated MBTA and known colloquially as "the T") is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. The MBTA transit network in ...

, and planning for the redevelopment of Park Square by placing the State Transportation Building there. During 1994 to 2003, Salvucci was a key developer, in collaboration with professor Nigel Wilson (MIT), of an innovative research and educational collaborative with the

University of Puerto Rico The University of Puerto Rico (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Universidad de Puerto Rico;'' often shortened to UPR) is the main List of state and territorial universities in the United States, public university system in the Commonwealth (U.S. i ...

and the Puerto Rico Highway and Transportation Authority, focused on development of

Tren Urbano The ''Tren Urbano'' (English language, English: Urban Train) is a List of automated urban metro subway systems, automated rapid transit system serving the San Juan–Bayamón–Caguas metropolitan area, main metropolitan area of Puerto Rico ...

, a new rail transit system for San Juan, which has now been replicated in Chicago, London, Hong Kong, and San Sebastian (Spain), as well as the MBTA. Salvucci has also participated in restructuring the commuter rail and urban transit system in Buenos Aires, Argentina to use

concession contract A concession or concession agreement is a grant of rights, land, property, or facility by a government, local authority, corporation, individual or other legal entity. Public services such as water supply may be operated as a concession. In the ...

s with the private sector to renew the physical capital of the rail systems, and to improve passenger service. One of Salvucci's best-known projects is the "Big Dig" ( Central Artery/Tunnel Project) in Boston that put an above-ground expressway underground, created a third Harbor Tunnel, and rejuvenated downtown Boston into an even more vibrant district. Salvucci created the vision, persuaded politicians on both state and national levels, and obtained the funds to complete this megaproject. , Salvucci is partly retired, but is still involved in the Allston Multimodal Project in Massachusetts. In the past, he has taught urban planning courses on transportation at MIT, and also at Harvard University's Graduate School of Design.

References

External links

MIT profile

Frederick P. Salvucci oral history, June 02, 2016
, Northeastern University Library {{DEFAULTSORT:Salvucci, Frederick P. 1940 births Living people American people of Italian descent Educators from Boston Engineers from Boston Boston Latin School alumni American Society of Civil Engineers University of Naples Federico II Massachusetts Secretaries of Transportation MIT School of Architecture and Planning faculty Harvard Graduate School of Design faculty