Samantha Silverberg Named Undersecretary of Transportation Policy

10:30AM / Sunday, March 01, 2026Print Story | Email Story

BOSTON — Interim Transportation Secretary Phillip Eng announced that Samantha E. Silverberg has been hired as Undersecretary of Transportation Policy at the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT).

A former senior transportation advisor to President Joe Biden, Silverberg will oversee policy development and implementation at MassDOT and manage special projects and initiatives to deliver a safe, reliable and efficient transportation system across the state.

"Interim Secretary Eng is building a strong team at MassDOT to deliver the type of transportation system that our residents and businesses deserve," said Governor Maura Healey. "We are excited to welcome Samantha Silverberg to the team, whose extensive transportation policy experience at both the state and federal levels will be a valuable contribution to the important work that MassDOT is doing every day."

Silverberg was a senior transportation official throughout the Biden Administration, beginning as Special Assistant to the President for Transportation and Infrastructure and later rising to Deputy Infrastructure Implementation Coordinator and finally Deputy Assistant to the President for Infrastructure Implementation in the Office of the Chief of Staff. In this role, she was President Biden's primary policy advisor on matters related to transportation and infrastructure. She was responsible for designing, negotiating, and implementing his signature bipartisan infrastructure law, deploying over $600 billion across transportation, water, high-speed internet, clean energy, resilience, and other sectors.

"It's an honor to return to working in transportation policy in Massachusetts," said Silverberg. "Because of Governor Healey's transportation investments, we have an incredible opportunity to make significant upgrades to roads, bridges and public transportation across the state, while also doing the work now to set this system up for long-term success. I'm grateful to Governor Healey and Interim Eng for placing their trust in me, and I look forward to getting to work with the entire team."

Prior to joining the Biden Administration, she served as Senior Director of Capital Program Planning and then Deputy Chief Administrative Officer at the MBTA during Governor Baker's administration. She is currently a Visiting Fellow at the Taubman Center for State and Local Government at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Silverberg joins MassDOT's executive leadership team alongside Undersecretary of Transportation and Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver.

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Pittsfield Seeks $28M Borrowing for Water, Sewer Infrastructure

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
04:32PM / Saturday, February 28, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The city is seeking a total of $28 million in borrowing authorizations to upgrade its drinking and wastewater infrastructure.

This includes $13 million for upgrades to the wastewater treatment plant and $15 million for upgrades to the Cleveland and Ashley Water Treatment Plants, which are located outside Pittsfield. The City Council referred the $15 million borrowing request to the Finance Subcommittee on Tuesday.

The full drinking water project is expected to cost $165 million over the next 8 years, with $150 million for long-term construction and $15 million for near-term needs. The initial ask would fund the final design and permitting for Phases 1-3, Phase 1 of interim updates, allowances, and contingency.

After the meeting, Commissioner of Public Services and Utilities Ricardo Morales explained that these are needed repairs so the current infrastructure can be stretched a little longer while design work is underway.

Pittsfield's two Krofta drinking water treatment plants were installed in the 1980s. The city says they are beyond anticipated useful service and at risk for catastrophic failure that could leave Pittsfield with a shortage of potable water.

Krofta is a compact filtration system that Pittsfield will continue to use. There are four units at the Cleveland WTP and two at the Ashley WTP. Morales said the system is "very good" but needs to be upgraded.

"We were one of the first to use that type of technology in the 80s, and it's outdated now, and getting parts and getting repairs to it is very costly because of the outdated technology that it's using, and we can replace that with better infrastructure," he explained.

"We need to build a chemical facility on the Cleveland side. We already have that done at Ashley with [American Rescue Plan Act] funds, largely, and then we need to build better tank holding systems at the plants to allow for chlorination to happen at the plant, instead of on its way down to Pittsfield."