Louis Gambaccini

Louis J. Gambaccini
New Jersey Commissioner of Transportation
In office
May 22, 1978 – September 25, 1981
Preceded byRussell Mullen
Succeeded byAnne Canby
Personal details
Born(1931-05-06)May 6, 1931
DiedAugust 19, 2018(2018-08-19) (aged 87)
Alma materUniversity of Connecticut, MPA, Syracuse University

Louis J. Gambaccini (May 6, 1931 – August 19, 2018) was an American government official who spent his career in the area of transportation.

He was a graduate of the University of Connecticut and received a masters in public administration from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University.

He spent 32 years at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, including 12 as vice president and general manager of the Port Authority Trans Hudson (PATH) rail system and as Assistant Executive Director.[1][2] In these roles, he started two multi-agency coalitions, TransitCenter and Transcom.[3] A resident of Ridgewood, New Jersey, he was nominated by Governor Brendan Byrne in 1978 to serve as New Jersey Commissioner of Transportation.[4] He held that post until the end of the Byrne administration in 1982.[5] Gambaccini later served eight years as the General Manager of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA). He served as chair of the American Public Transportation Association from 1992 to 1993.[1] In 1998, he established the Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center[1] at Rutgers University's Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, and was a senior fellow emeritus at that institution.[2]

He was born May 6, 1931, and died at the age of 87 on August 19, 2018, at his home in the Skillman section of Montgomery Township, New Jersey.[6]

  1. ^ a b c "In Memoriam: Gambaccini: Half a Century of Service". Passenger Transport. American Public Transportation Association. August 20, 2018. Archived from the original on August 27, 2018. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
  2. ^ a b "The Louis J. Gambaccini Civic Engagement Series: Toward Better Citizenship". www.eagleton.rutgers.edu. Rutgers University. Retrieved March 22, 2016.
  3. ^ Plotch, Philip (2023). Mobilizing the Metropolis: How the Port Authority Built New York. University of Michigan Press. pp. 114–142. ISBN 978-0472056132.
  4. ^ Sulliban, Joseph F. (April 6, 1978). "Byrne to Name Gambaccini Transport Commissioner; 'Manipulations' Assailed Plan to Aid State Railroads". The New York Times. Retrieved March 28, 2016. The Governor said he had conferred with Senators from Bergen County and expected no problems in getting Mr. Gambaccini, a Ridgewood resident, confirmed as Transportation Commissioner once Mr. Byrne submitted the nomination to the Senate on April 17.
  5. ^ Stessel, Dan. "NJ Transit HQ Dedicated To Honor Transportation Visionary Louis J. Gambaccini". www.njtransit.com. New Jersey Transit. Retrieved March 22, 2016.
  6. ^ Tate, Curtis. "Louis Gambaccini, former NJDOT chief and NJ Transit's first chairman, dies at 87", The Record, August 20, 2018. Accessed April 10, 2023. "Louis Gambaccini, a former state transportation commissioner and the first chairman of NJ Transit's board, died at his home in Skillman on Sunday, the agency announced Monday. He was 87."