MBTA is executing a five-year, US$8bn (£6.3bn) capital investment programme that prioritises core system investments into areas including new vehicles, track, signals, power systems and maintenance facilities. It is expanding its focus to include ways to increase the pace of all investments, and ensure system reliability by increasing maintenance and inspection intervals that properly reflect the age and condition assets.
The proposal includes five key initiatives to accelerate the pace of improvements:
- explore scheduling more aggressive evening and weekend closures to expedite infrastructure improvements;
- increase the frequency of inspections and preventive maintenance to find and fix potential issues before they impact service;
- seek changes to the law to enable flexible procurement and project delivery approaches;
- negotiate with industry partners to expedite manufacturing, accelerate contract milestones, and compress project schedules.
- creating a new, flexible team of additional MBTA personnel and external resources to focus on expediting construction and infrastructure projects.
Governor Charlie Baker said: “The MBTA has made tremendous gains since the winter of 2015 to control its operating costs, strengthen the pipeline to design and build capital projects, and take steps to improve service by focusing investments on core system infrastructure.” He added that the acceleration plan will allow it to continue its investments at a faster pace, with greater focus on service improvements to provide a safe, reliable means of transportation that supports the economy and gets people where they need to go.
Got a story? Email news@theconstructionindex.co.uk
