The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) recently released a plan to strengthen its transit infrastructure and prepare operations against the impacts of climate change and severe weather.
The Resilience Roadmap outlines both near- and long-term strategies to proactively reduce climate risks and improve reliability for all modes of transit. The plan prioritizes investments that protect critical assets, support safe operations, and minimize service disruptions. It was designed following the release of MBTA’s 2024 Climate Assessment.
“Building climate resilience is essential to keeping our transportation system safe and reliable,” Rebecca Tepper, Massachusetts Energy and Environmental secretary, said. “Much of our infrastructure wasn’t built for heavier rainfall, more frequent storms, and heat waves—conditions that can cause flooding, damage, and service disruptions. The MBTA’s roadmap targets practical upgrades to strengthen reliability and safety and plays an important role in advancing the ResilientMass program, which works to prepare infrastructure for today’s conditions and the future.”
The roadmap focuses on nine priority areas and identifies 30 resilience strategies. Of which, 23 are recommended for action within the next five years. The strategy identifies the climate risks, potential locations, responsible departments, and the estimated cost ranges.
ResilientMass is a strategy to help communities statewide mitigate the negative impacts of severe weather.