Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill will nominate Priya Jain, the head of a consulting firm that works on major infrastructure projects, as the New Jersey Commissioner of Transportation.
“I am thrilled to announce Priya Jain as my nominee for Commissioner of the Department of Transportation. A proud Morris County resident, she has advanced large-scale transportation and major projects across New Jersey and the globe and understands how to build new infrastructure from the ground up,” said Sherrill. “With Priya at the helm and Kris Kolluri overseeing both the Turnpike Authority and NJ TRANSIT, we are going to reimagine and streamline how transit is run in the state of New Jersey. Together, we’ll cut through red tape and make sure we’re fixing our aging roads and bridges, reducing delays on NJ TRANSIT, expanding bus services to communities across the state, and continue progress on the Gateway Project.”
Jain is the president of Americas Mace Consult, the regional arm of a global project management and infrastructure consulting firm.
She is a founding board member of the International Bridge, Tunnel & Turnpike Association.
Prior to joining Mace three years ago, Jain worked for other infrastructure firms, including Atlas, Atkins and CH2M. Jain has a degree in Civil Engineering and a master’s degree in environmental engineering.
New Jersey Transit CEO Kris Kolluri, whose transportation portfolio will expand under Sherrill to include the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, stated that Sherrill is taking a different approach to transportation in the Garden State, and Priya is the perfect choice to help us reach those goals.”
“Together, we’ll seek to reduce delays, improve communication with riders, fix aging roads and bridges, and speed permitting times to get new projects underway quickly,” said Kolluri, a former Commissioner of Transportation. “I look forward to working with Priya as we prepare for America’s 250th and FIFA World Cup, build the Gateway Tunnel, and improve access to mass transit options across the state.”
She will succeed Francis O’Connor, who was named by Gov. Phil Murphy two years ago.
“New Jerseyans rely on our transit systems each and every day and as Commissioner, I plan to work closely with the Governor-elect in order to reduce commute times, make our roads and bridges safer, and improve access to transit all across the state,” Jain said. “We will cut through red tape and permitting delays in order to finish what we started and build the Gateway Tunnel, expand transit access in South Jersey, and repair aging roads across the state.”
A Parsippany resident, Jain will require signoff from two Republican state senators from Morris County: Joseph Pennacchio (R-Montville) and Anthony Bucco (R-Boonton).
