Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) is the

port authority A port authority (less commonly a port district) is a governmental or quasi-governmental public authority for a special-purpose district usually formed by a legislative body (or bodies) to operate ports and other transportation infrastructure. ...

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 ...

. It owns and operates three airports,

Logan International Airport General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport — also known as Boston Logan International Airport — is an international airport located mostly in East Boston and partially in Winthrop, Massachusetts, United States. Covering , it has ...

, Hanscom Field, and

Worcester Regional Airport Worcester Regional Airport is three miles (5 km) west of Worcester, in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The main property lies within municipalities of Worcester and Leicester, with supporting facilities in Paxton. Once ...

, and public terminals in the

Port of Boston The Port of Boston (Automated Manifest System, AMS Seaport Code: 0401, UN/LOCODE: US BOS) is a major seaport located in Boston Harbor and adjacent to the Boston, Massachusetts, City of Boston. It is the largest port in Massachusetts and one of th ...

. Massport 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 General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport — also known as Boston Logan International Airport — is an international airport located mostly in East Boston and partially in Winthrop, Massachusetts, United States. Covering , it has ...

East Boston East Boston, nicknamed Eastie, is a Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, which was annexed by the city of Boston in 1836. Neighboring communities include Winthrop, Massachusetts, Winthrop, Revere, Mas ...

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 ...

History

20th century

The Massachusetts Port Authority was created in 1956 by the

Massachusetts General Court The Massachusetts General Court, formally the General Court of Massachusetts, is the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts located in the state capital of Boston. Th ...

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 An intermodal container, often called a shipping container, or a freight container, (or simply "container") is a large metal crate designed and built for intermodal freight transport, meaning these containers can be used across different Mode ...

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.

21st century

On January 1, 2010, the

Tobin Bridge The Maurice J. Tobin Memorial Bridge (formerly the Mystic River Bridge) is a cantilever bridge, cantilever truss bridge that spans more than from Charlestown, Boston, Boston to Chelsea, Massachusetts, Chelsea over the Mystic River in Massach ...

was transferred from the Authority to the new

Massachusetts Department of Transportation The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) oversees roads, public transit, aeronautics, and transportation licensing and registration in the US state of Massachusetts. It was created on November 1, 2009, by the 186th Sessio ...

. In June 2019, by a vote of 5-to-2, Massport's board of directors selected the current port director Lisa Wieland 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 executive directors

* John F. O'Halloran: 1959–1963 * Edward J. King: 1963–1974 * Edward Hanley (interim): 1974–1975 * David W. Davis: 1975–1982 * Kenneth C. Pearson (interim): 1982–1983 * 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: 2019–2023 * Ed Freni (interim): 2023–2024 * Richard A. Davey: 2024-present On May 29, 2024, the port authority board voted to offer Richard A. Davey the CEO position. Should he accept the offer, he would begin his role as CEO no later than September 9, 2024.

Massport facilities

Airports

* Hanscom Field *

– Formerly owned by the city of

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engl ...

until ownership transfer to Massport was mandated by law in 2009, and subsequently completed on June 22, 2010.

Seaports and maritime facilities

The

includes Cruiseport Boston and facilities in the Boston Marine Industrial Park in

South Boston South Boston (colloquially known as Southie) is a densely populated neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, located south and east of the Fort Point Channel and abutting Dorchester Bay (Boston Harbor), Dorchester Bay. It has under ...

, and others in

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 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 ...

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

Logan Airport shuttle 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. * Route 11 serves terminals A, B, C and E * Route 22 serves terminals A and B, subway station and rental car center during peak hours * Route 33 serves terminals C and E, subway station and rental car center during peak hours * Route 55 serves all terminals, subway station and rental car center during off-peak hours in the early morning and late evening * Route 66 serves all terminals, subway station and water transportation dock. * Route 88 serves all terminals and the economy parking garage, along with the subway station in the inbound direction (from the garage to the terminals)

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 The John B. Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center is a convention center located in Boston, Massachusetts. It was built in 1988 from a design by architects Kallmann, McKinnell & Wood. It replaced the John B. Hynes Memorial Auditorium, als ...

and Copley Square in the

Back Bay Back Bay is an officially recognized Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, built on Land reclamation, reclaimed land in the Charles River basin. Construction began in 1859, as the demand for luxury housing exceeded the ...

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 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 ...

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 The Ted Williams Tunnel is a highway tunnel in Boston, Massachusetts. The third in the city to travel under Boston Harbor, with the Sumner Tunnel and the Callahan Tunnel, it carries the final segment of Interstate 90 (the Massachusetts Turnpi ...

Public safety

Massachusetts State Police - Troop F

State Police-Troop F patrols and provides primary law enforcement services for all Massachusetts Port Authority owned properties, including but not limited to

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

in East Boston, Boston's

Seaport District The Seaport District, or simply Seaport, is a neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts. It is part of the larger neighborhood of South Boston, and is also sometimes called the Innovation District. The Seaport is a formerly industrial area that ha ...

, the

, and Seaport Hotel and Seaport World Trade Center. Troop F is a unique force within the Massachusetts State Police. Specialized assets include a dedicated detective unit, a bomb squad, a community services unit, a marine unit and highly trained, federally certified State Police K-9 teams. All the members of Troop F are tasked to ensure compliance with airport security rules and regulations as mandated by both the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). Until 2010, its only barracks was located within the airport. It has since moved to a building on the outskirts, allowing for more space, parking, and better access to the properties. The Troop F Commander also serves as Massport's Director of Aviation Security.

Massport Police

The Massachusetts Port Authority maintains its police force of sworn

law enforcement officer A law enforcement officer (LEO), or police officer or peace officer in North American English, is a public-sector or private-sector employee whose duties primarily involve the enforcement of laws, protecting life & property, keeping the peace, ...

s. They work in seamless partnership with the

Massachusetts State Police The Massachusetts State Police (MSP) is an agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, responsible for law enforcement and vehicle regulation across the state. As of 2024, it has 2,500 sworn troop ...

—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

, 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 that 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. The Chief of the Massport Police Department also serves as Massport's Director of Maritime Security. By state law, under Section 110 of Chapter 205 of the Acts of 1996, municipal police (such as the Boston Police Department) do not have jurisdictional authority on Massport property.

Massport Fire Rescue

Massport's Fire Rescue responsibilities include aircraft rescue and firefighting, structural fire protection, hazardous materials response, emergency medical services, responding to off-shore emergencies with the Marine division, which includes the 79-foot American United fireboat, as well as fire prevention and inspections. The Fire Rescue headquarters, a Fire Rescue satellite station and a Fire Rescue boat dock (shared with the Massachusetts State Police Troop F / Marine Unit) are all located on Boston Logan International Airport's airfield, while two additional ARFF stations exist at both Laurence G. Hanscom Field and Worcester Regional Airport. Massport Fire Rescue is part of the Massachusetts Metro Fire District and responds to surrounding communities on a mutual aid system.

References

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 A port authority (less commonly a port district) is a governmental or quasi-governmental public authority for a special-purpose district usually formed by a legislative body (or bodies) to operate ports and other transportation infrastructure. ...

Transportation in Boston