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2/7/2020
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) yesterday announced plans to accelerate several rail projects in 2020 to improve service, safety and reliability.
The 2020 Infrastructure Acceleration Plan will deliver track replacement, upgraded intersections and station improvements eight years earlier than originally planned. The accelerated schedule is the result of expanding traditional work windows and increasing work activities within those windows, MBTA officials said in a press release.
During periods of suspended and diverted service, crews will replace 10.8 miles of track on the Green Line, 6 miles on the Red Line and 3.5 miles on the Orange Line; make repairs and perform leak mitigation and weather-proofing on the Red and Blue Line rail tunnels; and modernize three escalators and upgrade traction power systems on the Orange Line.
The MBTA also will accelerate Lechmere viaduct work as part of rebuilding the elevated track segment through East Cambridge, and re-aligning the track to connect to a new Lechmere Station on the Green Line.
In 2019, the MBTA executed a plan to expedite projects, delivering them two years earlier than originally planned across the Red, Orange and Green lines.
“We recognize the need to accelerate core system investments, so our plan for 2020 will result in series of investments that is five times more than what we accomplished in 2019,” said MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak.