The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART) Board of Directors voted March 1 to name Daniel Grabauskas as the agency’s chief executive officer/executive director to oversee the Honolulu rail transit project.

Grabauskas, whose contract is for three years, will begin his new role in mid-April, heading the agency responsible for construction, operation, and maintenance of the $5.2 billion rail project.

Grabauskas is currently chairman and senior strategic adviser of the Bronner Center for Transportation Management and formerly served as general manager of Boston’s Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. He also is a past Massachusetts secretary of transportation.

Interim Executive Director Toru Hamayasu will continue leading the agency until the new CEO arrives, and will then continue with the project in a senior leadership position.