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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79 results are shown below.
Resource
March 2016
The U. S. Department of Transportation's Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP) Climate Data Processing Tool provides readily available downscaled climate data in a format that is relevant and useful for transportation planners at a local level. The tool, which is in Excel format, processes raw climate model output to produce projections that are meaningful for transportation planners to consider design or operational changes needed to create transportation infrastructure and services that are more resilient to climate change impacts.
Related Organizations: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT)
Resource Category: Data and tools
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Resource
June 2016
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) manual Highways in the River Environment - Floodplains, Extreme Events, Risk, and Resilience provides technical guidance to assist transportation agencies in assessing vulnerabilities of assets and facilities to climate change and extreme events occurring in riverine environments. It includes new information on how to account for changing precipitation conditions including more frequent and extreme weather events that may affect transportation infrastructure and drainage systems in riverine environments, consisting of rivers and streams, lakes, wetlands, and other natural features conveying water.
Related Organizations: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)
Resource Category: Assessments
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Resource
December 2015
The U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) has developed a web-based application that operates in conjunction with the existing StreamStats application for New York State to incorporate projected precipitation changes under various 21st century climate change scenarios. This application will allow transportation planners and engineers to explore how climate change may affect high flows, which can assist with the design of over-water infrastructure (such as culverts and bridges) to accommodate these changes.
Related Organizations: New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) , U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
Resource Category: Data and tools
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Resource
October 2015
The University of Florida (UF) developed a geographic information system (GIS)-based “sketch planning tool” to help transportation planners in Florida identify transportation infrastructure potentially vulnerable to projected sea-level rise. The sketch planning tool offers a mapping function to visualize areas that will be affected by different sea-level rise scenarios based upon surface elevations and the location of infrastructure. The tool is also customizable for experienced users to allow them to create more spatially refined inundation surfaces.
Related Organizations: University of Florida, Florida Department of Transportation
Resource Category: Data and tools
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Resource
August 2015
The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) is pursuing a “Resilience Pilot Program” (RPP) to improve data and modeling with the aim of reducing incidents of flood, hydraulic-related failure, and extreme weather damage to critical transportation infrastructure. A key element to the new RPP is a partnership with the U. S. Geological Survey (USGS). Leveraging USGS’s resources, the RPP is currently testing new technology such as fixed-wing drone, quad-copter hovercraft and ground based LiDAR imaging to better assess the siting, design, and construction of ADOT’s assets where they interchange with rivers, stream, creeks and floodplains.
Related Organizations: Arizona Department of Transportation, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
Resource Category: Data and tools
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Resource
February 2016
The University of California Davis Road Ecology Center undertook a stewardship study to assess the risk to California State Route 37 (SR 37) from sea-level rise. SR 37 passes near San Francisco Bay, connecting Interstate 80 and Highway 101. The road corridor and surrounding wetlands are threatened by sea-level rise and flooding. The road bed sits below sea level at its lowest elevation and is likely to experience erosion, flooding during storms, and inundation due to sea-level rise. The State Road 37 Stewardship Study (Study) included a stakeholder process and technical analyses to determine possible future solutions to reduce the vulnerability of the highway to climate impacts.
Related Organizations: University of California, Davis, California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), Sonoma Ecology Center
Resource Category: Assessments
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Resource
February 2, 2015
From the U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Anthony Foxx and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), Beyond Traffic discusses the effects of climate change over the next 30 years, including global mean sea level rise, temperature increases, and more frequent and intense storm events, as impacts on highways, bridges, public transportation, coastal ports and waterways. Released in Draft format, the DOT is asking for feedback with the intention of producing a final version later in 2015.
Related Organizations: U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT)
Resource Category: Assessments
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Resource
April 10, 2015
From 2013 to 2015, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) sponsored climate resilience pilot studies by partnering with State Departments of Transportation and Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs). The FHWA’s Climate Change Resilience Pilots were designed to conduct climate change and extreme weather vulnerability assessments of transportation infrastructure and to analyze options for adapting and improving resiliency. This report presents the results of the FHWA pilot study in the southeast Florida region of Broward, Miami-Dade, Monroe and Palm Beach Counties.
Related Organizations: Monroe County Planning and Environmental Resources Department , Miami-Dade County, Florida, Broward Metropolitan Planning Organization, Miami-Dade Metropolitan Planning Organization, Palm Beach Metropolitan Planning Organization, Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Monroe County, Florida
Resource Category: Assessments
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Resource
August 2015
This report was developed to help Rhode Island local governments assess vulnerabilities to natural hazards, such as sea-level rise and coastal flooding, and prepare implementable coastal adaptation strategies. Strategies derived from this process can be included in local planning documents, and used to prioritize adaptation investments through local transportation and capital improvement programs. The stepwise approach described in the report was piloted in North Kingstown, Rhode Island, and is intended to provide a model for other municipalities in the state.
Related Organizations: University of Rhode Island Coastal Resources Center, Rhode Island Sea Grant
Resource Category: Planning
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Resource
May 2015
European nations have collaborated on two research projects since 2009 to develop a detailed climate change risk assessment methodology and tools for adapting transportation systems and infrastructure. The first project, entitled “RIMAROCC” (Risk Management for Roads in a Changing Climate), produced a risk assessment framework to support decision-making regarding roads in light of climate change impacts. The more recent “ROADAPT” (Roads for Today, Adapted for Tomorrow) project developed guidelines and tools to be used with the RIMAROCC risk assessment framework, to better inform detailed vulnerability and socioeconomic impact assessments, and selection of adaptation strategies.
Resource Category: Assessments
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