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MBTA official: drones speed some inspections but cannot replace hands‑on checks
Summary
Dennis Volley said the MBTA uses drones to inspect bridges and structures to reduce road closures and improve access, but stressed that drones do not replace hands‑on, up‑close inspections for certain components; the agency has five trained drone pilots.
The MBTA has incorporated drone inspections into some structural and bridge assessments to supplement traditional methods, Dennis Volley said. "It's much more efficient to send a drone there than to shut the road down and get people up there and actually go and look," he said, noting that drones provide flexibility and faster visual access.
Volley cautioned that drone work has limits: "Drone inspections will never replace the hands on arms length inspection because you really need to go up and look at bridge components." He said the MBTA fields five trained drone pilots and maintains drones for that purpose, and framed drones as an efficiency tool rather than a complete substitute for in‑person inspection and repair teams.
The comments described operational tradeoffs — reduced need for lane closures in some cases versus the continued necessity of climbers and hands‑on inspection for detailed structural assessment — but did not announce a change in inspection policy or a new procurement. The MBTA official presented drones as one of multiple inspection tools used by the agency.
