An interconnect structure is provided that includes a liner located between an electrically conductive structure and an interconnect dielectric material layer. The liner is composed of a phase change material that is insulating at a first temperature, and becomes conductive at a second temperature that is higher than the first temperature. The liner that is composed of such a phase change material is referred to as an “insulator-to/from metal transition (IMT)” liner. In the present application, an entirety of, or a portion of, the IMT liner may be changed from an insulating phase to a conductive phase by increasing the temperature (i.e., heating) of the liner so as to provide a redundancy path in which electrons can flow.