Adaptive Transportation Projects and Design Guidelines
These resources provide examples of physical adaptation projects in the transportation sector as well as other examples related to project design, such as design guidelines that incorporate climate change projections. Many of the examples in this list are provided by case studies developed through a cooperative agreement with the Federal Highway Administration. Apply additional filters to narrow the list by region, state, climate impacts, jurisdictional focus, or transportation lifecycle stage.
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Resource
January 22, 2015
The Engineering Department of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) produced the Climate Resilience Design Guidelines (guidelines) to ensure that climate-related risks are factored into design and management of agency facilities and infrastructure. In particular, the guidelines focus on future sea-level rise projections and provide a methodology for incorporating projections into design criteria while allowing project teams flexibility to design cost-effective solutions. PANYNJ project architects and engineers are to use the guidelines to assess the vulnerability of projects to future impacts and to address those impacts when designing port authority infrastructure and buildings.
Resource Category: Law and Governance
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January 2015
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) guide, “Toward Sustainable Pavement Systems: A Reference Document,” synthesizes current knowledge on pavement system sustainability, including the effects that pavement has on climate-related considerations such as stormwater runoff and the urban heat island effect. The guide includes information and extensive synopses of current research on how pavement materials, design, construction, maintenance, and other use considerations can affect and enhance sustainability.
Resource Category: Solutions
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December 2014
To prevent water from the Potomac and Anacostia rivers from flooding downtown Washington, D. C. , the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is improving the levee system along the north side of the National Mall, running from the Lincoln Memorial to the Washington Monument. A levee system was originally erected to protect the District in 1939, following a major flood event in 1936. This project will improve the levee system through a series of upgrades: a permanent closure at 23rd Street and Fort McNair, and the installation of a more robust removable wall, which will provide flood protection but also allow for traffic flow on 17th street between flood events.
Resource Category: Solutions
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2014
The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) began using a variety of new materials and techniques to address drought conditions by reducing or eliminating water use on roadside landscaping following the onset of multi-year severe drought conditions in 2011. New roadside landscaping projects began utilizing recycled water, native grasses and plants that require little or no watering, innovative water collection techniques, and smart irrigation controls. Caltrans’ water conservation efforts are designed to help meet or exceed state water use reduction goals and address growing water scarcity.
Resource Category: Solutions
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September 16, 2014
The City and County of San Francisco (CCSF) adopted Guidance on how city and county agencies must consider sea-level rise for new capital improvement projects, including transportation improvements. The Guidance was adopted by the Capital Planning Committee (CPC) in September 2014 and revised in December 2015; the CPC makes recommendations to the Mayor and Board of Supervisors on all capital expenditures and approves the City’s 10-year Capital Improvement Plan. The Guidance provides direction to all CCSF departments on how to consider sea-level rise in all new construction, capital improvement, and maintenance projects.
Resource Category: Law and Governance
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August 2014
In 2011, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announced its Climate Change Adaptation Initiative and committed $1 million in research funding to pilot projects in seven geographically-diverse locations, including nine transit agencies. This report offers a brief summary on each of those seven pilot studies, including:
Resource Category: Monitoring and Reporting
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June 2014
The City of Sydney Australia is exploring the use of “cool pavements” (i. e. , lighter colored pavement) on roads to reduce the urban heat island effect in the city. The City is evaluating the effectiveness of cool pavements through a demonstration project in which they propose to repave 600 sq. meters of a street in Chippendale, a suburb of Sydney, with lighter colored pavements. Cool pavements are one method of reducing higher temperatures in urban environments because lighter colored pavements absorb less heat energy.
Resource Category: Solutions
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February 2014
The Norfolk, Virginia Department of Public Works invested $2. 4 million in 2013-2014 to improve two waterfront streets, Brambleton and Colley Avenues, and reduce flood impacts. To reduce tidal flooding of the roadway the city elevated and widened a section of Brambleton Avenue and rebuilt the intersection of Brambleton and Colley Avenues. Brambleton Avenue is a principal artery in downtown Norfolk that runs along the Elizabeth River and crosses over an inlet called the Hague. The project was implemented to address recurrent flooding that was already occurring in the area, which had caused frequent road closures.
Resource Category: Solutions
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January 31, 2014
In December 2012, Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley signed an Executive Order (EO) entitled “Climate Change and ‘Coast Smart’ Construction,” requiring state agencies to consider risks of coastal flooding and sea-level rise in state capital budget projects, and requiring the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to develop guidelines for the siting and design of infrastructure and other projects. Pursuant to the EO, in January 2014, the DNR-led Climate Change and Coast Smart Construction Working Group published “Coast Smart” Guidelines that provide recommendations to institutionalize consideration of coastal flooding and sea-level rise in planning and constructing all new or rehabilitated state structural and infrastructure projects, as well as state-funded private projects.
Resource Category: Law and Governance
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January 2014
New York has announced a program to upgrade 105 critical bridges across the state by repairing existing scour damage and increasing resilience to future damage from floods and extreme weather events. The Bridge Scour Program will ensure that the essential transportation infrastructure remains safe and provides access for emergency responders during the severe weather events that have become more common in New York and may further increase in frequency and severity under future climate conditions.
Resource Category: Funding
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