LYNN – State Sen. Thomas McGee is often at the forefront of efforts to extend the Blue Line subway from Revere to Lynn and establish a commuter ferry to connect the city’s waterfront to downtown Boston.The Lynn Democrat’s new appointment as Senate chairman of the Joint Committee on Transportation will likely make it easier for him to pursue those interests.”It’s exciting to work on a transportation policy for the whole state and important for me as chair to focus on issues closer to home,” McGee said Tuesday.According to McGee, the transportation leadership position will allow him to work at bringing the Blue Line rapid-transit rail from its terminus at Wonderland Station in Revere to the train and bus station on Market Street in downtown Lynn. He also plans to push for a commuter ferry from the city pier at Blossom Street Extension.”Work is already under way at the pier. We have spent $750,000 from the Seaport Bond Council and another $1.2 million has been approved. That money should be available in the spring to continue the project,” he said. “We’re doing all kinds of infrastructure work, demolishing a building, grading the parking lot, working on the bulkhead and extending the pier. The third phase will involve some dredging.”The pier project and commuter ferry initiative are occurring just as city officials implement the municipal waterfront master plan, one given renewed vigor now that electrical transmission lines have been removed from the development sites.As Transportation Committee chairman, issues for discussion will include but not be limited to ferries and trains. In addition to waterborne transportation, the 17-member Transportation Committee oversees roadway improvements and bridge and tunnel tolls. The latter remains a sore subject for North Shore residents in McGee’s legislative district because it’s difficult to enter Boston without using the Ted Williams Tunnel, Sumner Tunnel or Tobin Bridge, all of which impose a $3.50 one-way toll.McGee has been fighting a battle to achieve what he calls “toll equity” because Boston-bound commuters from the south pay no toll and from the west a significantly lesser highway toll.”The toll in the west depends on how far they have come in from,” he said. “But the bridges and tunnels certainly are more expensive to the commuter.”Senate President Therese Murray, a Plymouth Democrat, announced McGee’s appointment to the Transportation Committee chairmanship on Jan. 19. McGee has been a committee member since 2003.During the committee appointment proceedings, McGee was also named vice chairman of the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies, vice chairman of the Joint Committee on Veterans and Federal Affairs, and a member of the Senate Ways and Means Committee.The Transportation Committee chairmanship allows McGee to focus attention on improvements to Route 1, Route 128 and other critical roadways.”The interchanges at Route 62 and Route 35 along Route 128 are being completely rebuilt,” he said. “They just can’t handle the traffic.”McGee emphasized the success of economic development initiatives on the North Shore and throughout the state is directly linked to the effectiveness of the region’s transportation system.”Just look at Davis Square in Somerville. The Red Line was sent there and a huge amount of development followed, lots of restaurants and revitalization,” he said.The situation isn’t likely to repeat itself in Lynn any time soon because funding for the Blue Line is no longer on the state’s list of capital transportation projects. The fact that it was removed from the list caused some Blue Line activists to sound the death knell. McGee, who has served eight years in the House and eight in the Senate, was not among them.”The Blue Line was taken off the long-term plan, but we are continuing to move it forward,” he said. “Being taken off doesn’t mean it can’t be put back on. It might not happen right away, but we are still meeting with representati