Governor Healey Appoints MBTA General Manager Phil Eng as Interim Transportation Secretary
BOSTON — Governor Maura Healey announced today that she has named Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) General Manager Phillip Eng as Interim Transportation Secretary. Monica Tibbits-Nutt has made the decision to step down from her positions as Secretary of the Department of Transportation and CEO of MassDOT effective today and has agreed to continue as an advisor through December 31, 2025 to ensure a smooth and efficient transition for MassDOT. Secretary Tibbits-Nutt plans to return to private industry.
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.
“As General Manager of the MBTA, Phil Eng has overseen a transformative period for public transportation in our state and delivered the results that the people of Massachusetts have needed for a long time when it comes to safety and reliability. He is a trusted leader with decades of transportation experience, and I know that he is the right person to lead MassDOT during this period,” said Governor Healey. “Jonathan Gulliver is the longest serving Highway Administrator in MassDOT’s history for a reason – he knows how to deliver major, complex projects while also supporting our cities and towns’ needs when it comes to their roads and bridges. He is well deserving of this promotion.”
“Secretary Tibbits-Nutt has led our entire statewide transportation system and a workforce of more than 12,000 employees,” continued Governor Healey. “Under her leadership, we made significant progress on some of the most complex and consequential infrastructure investments in state history, including the Cape Cod Bridges, West/East Rail, and the Sumner Tunnel Restoration. During her tenure, MassDOT secured more than $1.8 billion in federal transportation funding – the highest in state history – and she was instrumental in advancing equitable fare policy across the state. Even before she joined MassDOT, she was advocating for fare free regional transit and, as Secretary, she delivered the state’s first fully funded statewide fare-free transit program for our 13 Regional Transit Authorities. At the same time, she supported the establishment of a groundbreaking low-income fare program for the MBTA. These programs have already made transportation more affordable for millions of Massachusetts residents. We are grateful for Secretary Tibbits-Nutt's hard work and dedication to MassDOT and for her willingness to continue to serve as a resource for our administration.”
“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 Interim MassDOT Secretary and MBTA General Manager Phil 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."
"I’m proud of the progress we have made at MassDOT, and I want to thank my team at the Highway Division who I’ve had the privilege of leading for over eight years,” said Undersecretary of Transportation Jonathan Gulliver. “This is an exciting moment for the future of Massachusetts’ transportation infrastructure, as we have the opportunity to make transformative upgrades and deliver for our people and our economy. I’m grateful to Monica Tibbits-Nutt for her many contributions these past few years, and I look forward to getting to work with Interim Secretary Eng and the entire team.”
About Phil Eng
Governor Healey appointed Phil Eng as General Manager of the MBTA in March 2023. Since then, he has overseen a transformative period at the nation’s 4th 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 over 20 years, opened South Coast Rail to deliver rail service to Southeastern Mass 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 beginning in 1983 as a Junior Engineer. Over the course of three decades Eng held many roles including planning, in-house design, bridge inspection including the 4 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 many signature and transformative projects, including the Mario M. Cuomo Tappan Zee Bridge and Kosciuszko Bridge. He then served as Chief Operating Officer of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority where he oversaw successful efforts to improve performance and efficiency across all agencies, including the NYC Transit Authority, 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.
About Jonathan Gulliver
Jonathan Gulliver has served as the State Highway Administrator at the Massachusetts Department of Transportation since 2017 and is the longest serving administrator in the department’s history. He oversees the daily operations of the state highway system and leads a team of nearly 2,800 staff responsible for the planning, design, construction, and maintenance of the Commonwealth’s roadway infrastructure. He has dedicated nearly three decades to public service, beginning as a construction inspector in heavy construction and infrastructure and has successfully advanced several of the state’s most transformative projects. He has overseen major projects such as the Sumner Tunnel Restoration Project, the North Washington Street Bridge Replacement Project, and the Commonwealth Avenue Bridge Replacement Project. Under his leadership, municipal grant funding has expanded from $20 million to $65 million across programs such as the Local Bottleneck Reduction, Small Bridge, Municipal Pavement, Complete Streets, and Shared Streets and Spaces. He is responsible for the annual delivery of MassDOT’s $2 billion plus capital program and has held multiple leadership positions within MassDOT.
Administrator Gulliver is active in several professional organizations and has served on numerous advisory boards and national committees focused on innovation, safety, and infrastructure delivery. He is the recipient of several industry honors, including the Honorable Ray LaHood Award from WTS Boston (2022) and the Professional Manager of the Year in Transportation from the American Public Works Association (2025). He holds a degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute.