Transportation Sector Assessments and Tools
This tab provides climate science, vulnerability assessments, and tools for understanding climate change impacts to the water sector and potential adaptation options. Apply additional filters to narrow the list by resource type, region, and impact.
83 results are shown below.
Resource
October 2014
"Highways in the Coastal Environment: Assessing Extreme Events" (HEC-25 Vol. 2) was developed by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to provide technical guidance for assessing vulnerabilities of highway infrastructure in coastal areas to climate change and extreme weather events. In particular, the manual identifies methods for quantifying exposure of coastal transportation facilities to sea-level rise, storm surge, and wave action. The information provided in the manual can be used to inform risk and vulnerability assessments, planning, and design guidelines for infrastructure.
Resource Category: Assessments
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October 2014
The U. S. Department of Transportation's (USDOT) Center for Climate Change and Environmental Forecasting conducted a comprehensive, multi-phase study of climate change impacts on transportation in the Central Gulf Coast region. This report, led by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), represents the completion of the second phase of research on climate change impacts in the region. The Gulf Coast study initially looked at the potential impacts of climate change on transportation infrastructure in the region under a Phase 1 effort that was completed in 2008.
Resource Category: Assessments
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September 2014
The Danish Road Directorate (DRD) developed a Blue Spot Analysis to identify roadways vulnerable to flooding under present conditions and future climate projections and to inform its climate change adaptation response. A “Blue Spot” is a section of road where there is both a high risk of flooding and significant consequences from flooding. Road flooding is the primary climate adaptation challenge for Denmark and is the focus of the DRD’s climate adaptation planning. The DRD’s strategy to adapt to road flooding is to manage flooding that occurs, improve roads when financially feasible, and to prevent climate-related impacts whenever possible.
Resource Category: Data and tools
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June 2014
In support of the Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI) Sustainable Communities program, the Georgetown Climate Center and Rutgers University's Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy released research papers examining 11 potential indicators that could help measure progress and demonstrate the benefits of sustainable communities.
Resource Category: Solutions
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May 25, 2014
The U. S. Department of Transportation (U. S. DOT) developed this guide to help transportation agencies identify the most critical assets in their transportation systems. Identifying the critical assets can be a very effective way to help inform and narrow the scope of a transportation vulnerability assessment, making the assessment process much more manageable for an agency. The guide provides an overview of common challenges related to assessing asset criticality, options for defining criticality and identifying scope, and a process for applying criteria to rank assets' criticality.
Resource Category: Assessments
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April 2014
The New Hampshire Department of Transportation (NHDOT) conducted an assessment of the vulnerability of the state’s transportation system, and this report outlines the results, and includes an action plan of adaptive strategies for the department to address climate-related impacts. NHDOT assets, programs, policies, and activities (APPA) that may be impacted by climate change are discussed. The report also describes NHDOT’s goals to increase the resilience of the state’s transportation infrastructure, and the department's preparedness for natural disasters and climate-related impacts.
Resource Category: Assessments
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April 2014
The Transportation Research Board (TRB) reviews the critical concerns and research priorities for environmental issues impacted by and affecting aviation activities in this report, including the issue of climate change. TRB evaluated the aviation impacts on noise, air quality, climate change, and water quality; sustainable solutions to minimize impacts; and processes and tools for solution implementation. Adaptation planning and preparedness is addressed with the general recommendation that downscaled, region-specific climate projections should be incorporated into airport planning processes and operations.
Resource Category: Assessments
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2013
The Alaska University Transportation Center (AUTC) of the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, supported a research project to study the effects of groundwater flow on permafrost degradation and resulting road instability. The stability of permafrost below roadways and embankments is increasingly affected by warming surface temperatures caused by climate change, but may also be affected by heat transfer from groundwater flow. Studies have shown that groundwater flow can accelerate permafrost degradation by several orders of magnitude compared to thaw caused by heat transfer from the atmosphere alone.
Resource Category: Assessments
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December 2013
The University of Southern California Sea Grant Program completed a Sea Level Rise Vulnerability Study for the City of Los Angeles that summarizes initial research on the potential impacts of sea-level rise on Los Angeles’s coastal and shoreline assets, including the Port of Los Angeles, the Pacific Coast Highway and other significant coastal roads. The study identifies the Los Angeles (LA) communities and infrastructure most threatened, and offers a suite of adaptation measures including several specific recommendations for safeguarding transportation assets.
Resource Category: Assessments
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November 2013
The UK Government's proposed design for a new high speed railway between London and points north considered climate change-related risks, including flooding of tracks and overheating in tunnels. The risk assessment report discusses how those risks will be addressed in the proposed design for the project. The proposed project, High Speed Two (HS2), is designed to link eight of Britain’s ten largest cities and increase the capacity of the country’s rail infrastructure. The project is expected to cost 16 billion British pounds, with service to start in 2026.
Resource Category: Assessments
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