BOSTON, July 28 (UPI) -- Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has promised to replace patronage with professionalism when it comes to selecting a new head for the state's turnpike authority.
Chairman Matthew Amorello, the senior official responsible for the Big Dig project, agreed to resign Thursday in the wake of a Boston tunnel accident this month that claimed the life of a 38-year-old woman, The New York Times reports.
The woman was killed when ceiling tiles in a tunnel known as the I-90 connector came loose, crushing her car. Subsequent inspections found numerous problems in the tunnels.
Though Amorello wasn't head of the turnpike authority when the tunnel was built, Romney questioned his ability to lead the agency because he lacked engineering credentials, the Times said.
At a news conference Thursday, the governor indicated he might appoint his secretary of transportation to head the turnpike authority and then add an executive director with engineering and construction credentials.
"Patronage will be replaced by professionalism. Secrecy will be replaced by openness," Romney said.
