The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) created a 2017-2021 $8 billion, five-year Capital Investment Plan to spell out the major improvements intended for the Commuter Rail and Rapid Transit systems. However, with the rapid growth of the region’s population, the demand placed on the systems required some significant improvements. Recognizing this, the Agency updated the plan to include additional money to address the issues.

Many of the projects had already started and will carry over to the next five-year plan. However, the completed projects included replacing the elevators at the Ruggles Station to improve accessibility to Orange Line and Commuter Rail platforms and adding a new elevator to make it easier to transfer between modes. The Blue Hills Station received upgrades to the high level platform, passenger waiting areas and canopies.

The Agency has decades of experience with hot-dip galvanizing and has been a proponent of the process to minimize corrosion and maximize longevity. Their use of a duplex system of galvanizing, paint, and a clear anti-graffiti coating has been effective in reducing the maintenance and repainting costs.