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.
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83 results are shown below.
Resource
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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Resource
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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August 2013
The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) participated in a pilot program (“pilot”) that looks at climate stressors in the Atlanta region, and explores ways that MARTA may modify their asset management system to monitor changes to the region’s assets caused by climate change and help identify response strategies. Under this pilot, MARTA inventoried system assets and used climate risk modeling projections to assess the vulnerability of assets to climate risk; identified strategies to manage risks; and incorporated risk management strategies into lifecycle management plans by monitoring and updating asset records following any change in condition.
Resource Category: Solutions
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June 2013
The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) considered sea-level rise as a factor in early design and environmental review for the Mukilteo Multimodal Terminal Project (“Project”). The Project will develop a new terminal for the Mukilteo/Clinton Ferry, which provides transportation between Whidbey Island and the Seattle metropolitan area. In the final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Project, WSDOT acknowledged that changing climate would impact the function and operations of Multimodal Project over the 50 to 100 year lifespan of the facility.
Resource Category: Law and Governance
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July 2013
This report is intended to address sea level rise and storm surge flooding related threats to military transportation infrastructure and readiness. It was prepared by the Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization (HRTO) at the request of military officials, who expressed concerns in 2009 that delays at the region’s bridges and tunnels were negatively impacting their ability to carry out their missions. To address these concerns and better understand the scope of the problem, the study includes three phases; (1) a highway network analysis, (2) a survey of military commuters, and (3) an analysis of roadways serving the military and sea level rise/storm surge.
Resource Category: Assessments
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May 2013
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) partnered with State Departments of Transportation (DOTs), Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs), and Federal Land Management Agencies (FLMAs) to pilot approaches to conduct climate change and extreme weather vulnerability assessments of transportation infrastructure, and to analyze options for adapting and improving resiliency. This pilot program is being jointly sponsored by the FHWA Office of Environment, Planning and Realty, and the Office of Infrastructure.
Resource Category: Assessments
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March 2013
The Arizona Department of Transportation’s (ADOT) Preliminary Study of Climate Adaptation for the Statewide Transportation System in Arizona is intended to provide a preliminary assessment of climate impacts on ADOT infrastructure and a framework for how ADOT can begin to incorporate adaptation into transportation decision-making. The study methodology included mapping ADOT decision-makers; completing a literature review of climate science for the region and adaptation best practices for the Southwest; and conducting online and focus group surveys.
Resource Category: Planning
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January 14, 2013
This study makes projections for recurrent flooding in coastal Virginia, outlines the predicted impacts on transportation infrastructure, and offers planning and implementation activities to reduce risks to coastal infrastructure. The report provides an overview of available adaptation strategies for recurrent flooding, reviews their implementation around the world, and identifies specific strategies appropriate for Virginia.
Authors or Affiliated Users: Molly Mitchell, Carl Hershner, Julie Herman, Dan Schatt, Pam Mason, Emily Eggington
Resource Category: Assessments
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