Disruptive events caused by weather extremes are imposing significant and rising costs on transportation agencies. In response, federal and state transportation agencies and other organizations are exploring adaptation measures to reduce the adverse consequences of these events. Several existing adaptation frameworks are synthesized here into a simplified, core adaptation framework, and the study seeks to delineate the current barriers to the widespread implementation of adaptation programs by state departments of transportation in the United States. From interviews with transportation practitioners and a review of the results from FHWA pilot projects, it is found that uncertainty about future climate conditions, the need for additional vulnerability-modeling tools, conceptual uncertainty about evaluating asset criticality, and limited funding all inhibit implementation of adaptation measures.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
MeyerM. D., RowanE., SnowC., and ChoateA.. Impacts of Extreme Weather on Transportation: National Symposium Summary.AASHTO, Washington, D.C., 2013.
2.
2014 National Climate Assessment.U.S. Global Change Research Program, Washington, D.C., 2014.
3.
Summary for Policymakers. In Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis, IPCC Working Group I Contribution to Fifth Assessment Report (StockerT. F., eds.), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom, 2013.
4.
Synthesis Report. In Climate Change 2007, IPCC Working Groups I, II, and III Contribution to Fourth Assessment Report, IPCC, Geneva, 2007, p. 104.
5.
Service Assessment: The Missouri/Souris River Floods of May–August 2011.National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 2012.
6.
Summary Report: MPO Peer Workshop on Planning for Climate Change.Resource Systems Group, Burlington, Vt., 2008.
7.
Climate Change and Extreme Weather Vulnerability Assessment Framework.FHWA, U.S. Department of Transportation, 2012.
8.
MeyerM., FloodM., KellerJ., LennonJ., McVoyG., DorneyC., LeonardK., HymanR., and SmithJ.. NCHRP Report 750: Strategic Issues Facing Transportation: Volume 2: Climate Change, Extreme Weather Events and the Highway System: Practitioner's Guide and Research Report, Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, Washington, D.C., 2014.
9.
BaglinC.NCHRP Synthesis of Highway Practice 454: Response to Extreme Weather Impacts on Transportation Systems.Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, Washington, D.C., 2014.
Climate Impacts Vulnerability Assessment.Washington State Department of Transportation, Olympia, 2011.
12.
Assessing Vulnerability and Risk of Climate Change Effects on Transportation Infrastructure: Hampton Roads Virginia Pilot.Virginia Department of Transportation, Richmond, 2011.
13.
Climate Change Vulnerability and Risk Assessment of New Jersey's Transportation Infrastructure.New Jersey Transportation Planning Authority, Newark, 2011.
Flooded Bus Barns and Buckled Rails: Public Transportation and Climate Change Adaptation. FTA Report 0001. FTA, U.S. Department of Transportation, 2011.
16.
WallT. A., and MeyerM.. Transportation Research E-Circular E-C181: Risk-Based Adaptation Frameworks for Climate Change Planning in Transportation Sector.Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, Washington, D.C., 2013.
17.
MeyerM. D., RowanE., SavonisM. J., and ChoateA.. Integrating Extreme Weather Risk into Transportation Asset Management.AASHTO, Washington, D.C., 2012.
Adapting to Rising Tides: Transportation Vulnerability and Risk Assessment Pilot Project. Technical Report. Metropolitan Transportation Commission, San Francisco, Calif., 2011.
ICF International. Impacts of Climate Change and Variability on Transportation Systems and Infrastructure: Gulf Coast Study, Phase 2–Task 3.1: Screening for Vulnerability. Report FHWA-HEP-12-053. FHWA, U.S. Department of Transportation, 2014.
23.
SullivanJ. L., NovakD. C., Aultman-HallL., and ScottD. M.. Identifying Critical Road Segments and Measuring System-Wide Robustness in Transportation Networks with Isolating Links: A Link-Based Capacity-Reduction Approach. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Vol. 44, No. 5, 2010, pp. 323–336.
24.
ScottD. M., NovakD. C., Aultman-HallL., and GuoF.. Network Robustness Index: A New Method for Identifying Critical Links and Evaluating the Performance of Transportation Networks. Journal of Transport Geography, Vol. 14, No. 3, 2006, pp. 215–227.
25.
ErathA., BirdsallJ., AxhausenK. W., and HajdinR.. Vulnerability Assessment Methodology for Swiss Road Network. In Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, No. 2137, Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, Washington, D.C., 2009, pp. 118–126.
26.
JeneliusE., PetersenT., and MattssonL.-G.. Importance and Exposure in Road Network Vulnerability Analysis. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Vol. 40, No. 7, 2006, pp. 537–560.
27.
ICF International. Impacts of Climate Change and Variability on Transportation Systems and Infrastructure: Gulf Coast Study, Phase 2–Task 1: Assessing Infrastructure Criticality in Mobile, AL. Report FHWA-HEP-11-029. FHWA, U.S. Department of Transportation, 2011.
28.
JeneliusE., and MattssonL.-G.. Road Network Vulnerability Analysis of Area-Covering Disruptions: A Grid-Based Approach with Case Study. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Vol. 46, No. 5, 2012, pp. 746–760.
29.
FosterJ., LoweA., and WinkelmanS.. The Value of Green Infrastructure for Urban Climate Adaptation.Center for Clean Air Policy, Washington, D.C., 2011.
30.
ICF International. Assessment of the Body of Knowledge on Incorporating Climate Change Adaptation Measures into Transportation Projects. Report FHWA-HEP-14-016. FHWA, U.S. Department of Transportation, 2013.
