PROVIDENCE – South Coast Rail project manager Kristina Egan will step down at the end of June and try her hand at consulting.
Egan has headed the project to extend commuter rail service to Fall River and New Bedford since her appointment in June 2007.
She moved to Maine a year ago and told Providence Business News Thursday that the commute was becoming impractical.
“I’ve been going back and forth … but it’s difficult to get to New Bedford and Fall River,” she said.
Ironically, Egan has been making the commute by Amtrak but has been unable to reach New Bedford and Fall River because the commuter rail service stops well before the cities.
She has overseen successful grant applications and worked to secure environmental and federal permits for the billion-dollar project.
“I’ve had an absolute blast,” she said. “I have loved every minute.”
Egan married about 16 months ago and shortly thereafter moved to Maine to join her husband, putting the South Coast more than 100 miles away. She told state officials she plans to leave her post on June 30.
“The governor and the lieutenant governor are committed to finding another director and are searching for that person right now,” Egan said. “I will help that person in whatever way I can over the summer to learn what I’ve learned and know who I know.”
Massachusetts officials have long touted the South Coast Rail project as a way to stimulate economic development along the route.
In March, a draft environmental impact study favored a route resembling two opposing Y’s that would start at Stoughton and North Attleboro and end at Fall River and Fairhaven. The proposed route has generated controversy in some towns along the route concerned about the rails disrupting the quality of life and the environment.
