• HOME
  • MyTRB
  • CONTACT US
  • DIRECTORY
  • E-NEWSLETTER
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • FOLLOW US
  • RSS
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Transportation Research Board
  • HOME
    • MyTRB
    • CONTACT US
    • DIRECTORY
    • E-NEWSLETTER
    • SUBSCRIBE
    • FOLLOW US
    • RSS
  • About TRB
    • Get Involved with TRB
    • Mission & Services
    • Strategic Plan
    • Centennial Celebration
    • TRB Divisions
      • Executive Office
      • Administration & Finance
      • Cooperative Research Programs
      • Studies and Special Programs
      • Strategic Highway Research Program 2
      • Technical Activities
    • Sponsors & Affiliates
    • Awards
    • Facilities & Directions
    • Job Openings
  • Annual Meeting
    • Program
    • Registration
    • Resource Pages
    • Exhibits & Marketing Opportunities
    • Interactive Program
    • Announcements
  • Calendar
  • Committees & Panels
    • Executive Committee
    • Standing Committees
    • Policy Committees
    • Marine Board Members
    • Committee & Panel Homepages
    • Cooperative Research Panels
      • Highway (NCHRP)
      • Transit (TCRP)
      • Airport (ACRP)
      • Freight (NCFRP)
      • Hazardous Materials (HMCRP)
      • Rail (NCRRP)
    • Synthesis Panels
      • Highway
      • Transit
      • Airport
    • IDEA
      • Safety IDEA
  • MyTRB
  • Programs
    • Cooperative Research
      • Highway (NCHRP)
      • Transit (TCRP)
      • Airport (ACRP)
      • Behavioral Traffic Safety (BTSCRP)
      • Freight (NCFRP)
      • Hazardous Materials (HMCRP)
      • Rail (NCRRP)
    • Synthesis
      • Highway
      • Transit
      • Airport
      • Truck & Bus Safety
    • Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis (IDEA)
    • Legal Research
    • Marine Board
    • Consensus and Advisory Studies
    • Strategic Highway Research Program 2 (SHRP 2)
      • SHRP 2 Naturalistic Driving Study Data Access
      • SHRP 2 Archives
    • Transportation Research Information Services (TRIS)
  • Projects
    • Find a Project
    • Requests for Proposals
    • Requests for Information
    • Upcoming Projects
  • Publications
    • Bookstore
    • Subscription Services
    • by Series
    • by Subject
    • E-Newsletter
    • Transportation Research Record Online
    • Publications Index
    • Errata
  • Resources & Databases
    • Webinars
    • Conference Recordings
    • Research In Progress (RiP)
    • Research Needs Statements (RNS)
    • TRID (A Transportation Research Database)
    • Transportation Research Thesaurus (TRT)
    • SHRP 2 Naturalistic Driving Study Data Access
    • Online Directory
    • Library
    • Research Funding
    • Careers in Motion Job Center
  • Provide Feedback
  • Connect with TRB
HOME MyTRB CONTACT US DIRECTORY E-NEWSLETTER FOLLOW US RSS


About TRB
Get Involved with TRB
Mission & Services
Strategic Plan
Centennial Celebration
TRB Divisions
Executive Office
Administration & Finance
Cooperative Research Programs
Studies and Special Programs
Strategic Highway Research Program 2
Technical Activities
Sponsors & Affiliates
Awards
Facilities & Directions
Job Openings
Annual Meeting
Announcements
Program
Online Program
Curated Program
Paper Submission
Registration
Exhibits & Marketing Opportunities
Virtual Resource Pages
Career Fair
Media Page
Future AMs
Contact Us
Past Programs
Calendar

Committees & Panels
Executive Committee
Standing Committees 
Policy Committees
Marine Board Members
Committee & Panel Homepages
Cooperative Research Panels
Highway (NCHRP)
Transit (TCRP)
Airport (ACRP)
Freight (NCFRP)
Hazardous Materials (HMCRP)
Rail (NCRRP)
Synthesis Panels
Highway
Transit
Airport
IDEA
Safety IDEA
Programs

Cooperative Research
Highway (NCHRP)
Transit (TCRP)
Airport (ACRP)
Behavioral Traffic Safety (BTSCRP)
Freight (NCFRP)
Hazardous Materials (HMCRP)
Rail (NCRRP)
Synthesis
Highway
Transit
Airport
Truck & Bus Safety
Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis (IDEA)
Legal Research
Marine Board
Consensus and Advisory Studies
Strategic Highway Research Program 2 (SHRP 2)
SHRP 2 Naturalistic Driving Study Data Access
SHRP 2 Archives
Transportation Research Information Services (TRIS)


Projects
Find a Project
Requests for Proposals
Requests for Information
Upcoming Projects
Publications
 
Bookstore
Subscription Services
by Series
by Subject
E-Newsletter
Transportation Research Record Online
Publications Index
Errata
 
Resources & Databases

Webinars
Conference Recordings
Research In Progress (RiP)
Research Needs Statements (RNS)
TRID (A Transportation Research Database)
Transportation Research Thesaurus (TRT)
SHRP 2 Naturalistic Driving Study Data Access
Online Directory
Library
Research Funding
Careers in Motion Job Center


Sign up for the TRB Newsletter
Transportation Research Board > Blurbs > Transportation planning to the extreme for weather and climate change



Transportation planning to the extreme for weather and climate change
180432

Transportation planning to the extreme for weather and climate change

More intense and more frequent extreme precipitation events are projected in a warming climate. With this risk comes possible detrimental outcomes based on what has happened in the past. Water rises over bridges. Homes, businesses, and roads on steep hills fall away in a landslide. Tornadoes rip through towns. Planes are grounded. Coastal areas are underwater.

The U.S. Gulf Region is dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Laura and California is beginning to get a handle on wildfires that have been raging for weeks. This fall TRB is offering webinars to help strengthen the transportation industry’s resilience to these events. On October 6, TRB hosts A Resilient Path Forward for the Marine Transportation System and on October 7, Weathering the Storm - Climate Resilience at Airports.

State departments of transportation (DOTs) are also taking changing climate and extreme weather into account when making infrastructure decisions, but they are not always using a formal set of tools for cost-benefit analysis to address climate resilience. A TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) guidebook was developed to fill the gaps in the routine use of cost-benefit analysis and other decisions-making tools in light of extreme weather.

Extremes are not rare
It’s become common to hear that “one-in-a-hundred-year events” are occurring in five-, 10-, and 15-year periods. Scientists identify these extreme weather events based on the historical record of weather in a particular region. A “return time” is a commonly used metric of probability; for example, a 100-year return time means that in any given year, there is a 1-in-100 chance of the threshold being reached.

Eight cases of diverse weather events in the U.S. from 2007-2012 highlighted the broad and evolving nature of keeping up with transportation infrastructure. NCHRP’s Response to Extreme Weather Impacts on Transportation Systems offers in-depth lessons learned and effective practices for addressing this specific challenge.

Research leadership from TRB
In April 2020, TRB offered webinars on environmentally sustainable funding and financing at the intersection of federal surface transportation authorization and realignment of state transportation spending. Going further in preventative measures, an April 30 webinar explored the role of ecology in sustainable transportation.

TRB has provided practitioners with research findings of potential impacts of climate change and extreme weather on the U.S. Highway system for years. The 2014 Strategic Issues Facing Transportation research showed the need for a solid foundation to plan for the impacts of climate change through 2050. The increasing demands for highway reconstruction and rehabilitation happening now provide an opportunity to incorporate climate adaptation strategies.

Speakers at a 2018 TRB conference on freight analytics impacts on the Marine Transportation System addressed the role of sea level rise on the field. One presenter specifically spoke on using the expert elicitation of port authorities to assess the vulnerability and the adaptive capacity of ports to the rising threats of extreme weather and sea level rise.

Professionals in the aviation industry are also keeping a step ahead of preparations for extreme weather events and climate change. TRB’s Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) provides Climate Resilience and Benefit-Cost Analysis: A Handbook for Airports to assess the benefits, costs, and financial feasibility of infrastructure projects designed to improve resilience. Case studies of airports in Phoenix, Boston, New Orleans, and Little Rock explore how extreme weather events can affect small and large airports. In summary, evaluating climate resilience at airports may be wisely considered part of the overall risk management processes.

ACRP also offers Integrating Sustainability Planning and the Environmental Review Process as a manual for planners who are integrating the environmental review and sustainability planning processes at airports. The fields of sustainability planning and environmental review share overlap, providing another opportunity for planning and infrastructure enhancement in transportation.

Extreme weather effects reach from the sky to deep underground, requiring preparations that are unique to each aspect of transportation. TRB’s Transit Cooperative Research Project (TCRP) offers a series of reports on Improving the Resilience of Transit Systems Threatened by Natural Disasters with practices for all sizes of transit systems to absorb the impacts of disaster, recover quickly, and return rapidly to providing the services that customers rely on to meet their travel needs. It notes resilienttransit.org as a resource to identify tools to help plan for natural disasters.

Escalating preparations from basic to extreme
At TRB’s Marine Board Spring Meeting, Suzanne Lemieux of the American Petroleum Institute mentioned the lessons learned from Harvey in terms of resilience, working from home, and managing systems for dealing with the ongoing coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. The 2020 hurricane season started unseasonably early, so the industry was already preparing for facing the dual threats of hurricanes and COVID-19 as early as May.

A summary of TRB's 2019 conference on resilience presents advancements made in transportation systems resilience to natural hazards, climate change, and impacts from extreme weather events. It includes an educational flood mitigation demonstration.

TRB continues to look to the future to better incorporate extreme event and climate change into transportation planning. An active NCHRP project aims to provide guidelines for response planning, assessment, and rapid restoration of service of bridges in extreme events.

Further your career in transportation planning for extreme weather events or climate change by getting involved with TRB. You can become a friend of TRB’s Standing Committee on Extreme Weather and Climate Change Adaptation. Friends of committees receive updates on and can volunteer to participate in committee activities.

Get involved in this work with the Cooperative Research Programs. Look for ongoing information on new projects, requests for proposals, or to nominate yourself or others to serve on a project panel. Submit problem statement research ideas and find new announcements in TRB’s weekly newsletter or on the homepages for ACRP, NCHRP, and TCRP. Your expertise can be of service as extreme events require extreme preparation.

TRB reports cited in this article:
  • ACRP Research Report 199: Climate Resilience and Benefit-Cost Analysis: A Handbook for Airports
  • ACRP Research Report 209: Integrating Sustainability Planning and the Environmental Review Process
  • NCHRP Report 750: Strategic Issues Facing Transportation, Volume 2: Climate Change, Extreme Weather Events, and the Highway System: Practitioner’s Guide and Research Report
  • NCHRP Research Report 938: Incorporating the Costs and Benefits of Adaptation Measures in Preparation for Extreme Weather Events and Climate Change—Guidebook
  • NCHRP Synthesis 454: Response to Extreme Weather Impacts on Transportation Systems
  • TCRP Web-Only Document 70: Improving the Resilience of Transit Systems Threatened by Natural Disasters, Volume 2: Research Overview

National Academies resources:
  • Based on Science: Global warming is contributing to extreme weather events
  • Attribution of Extreme Weather Events in the Context of Climate Change
  • Disaster Resources from the National Academies

TRB projects cited in this article:
  • Guidelines for Response Planning, Assessment, and Rapid Restoration of Service of Bridges in Extreme Events

TRB events cited in this article:
  • TRB Webinar: A Resilient Path Forward for the Marine Transportation System
  • TRB Webinar: Weathering the Storm - Climate Resilience at Airports
  • TRB Webinar: Greener in Many Ways: Environmentally Sustainable Funding and Financing
  • TRB Webinar: What Role Does Ecology Have in Sustainable Transportation?
  • Marine Board Spring Meeting
  • Conference Proceedings on the Web 22: Transforming the Marine Transportation System Through Multimodal Freight Analytics
  • Transportation Research Circular E-C265: Transportation Resilience 2019: 2nd International Conference on Resilience to Natural Hazards and Extreme Weather

TRB committees cited in this article:
  • Standing Committee on Extreme Weather and Climate Change Adaptation

External resources cited in this article:
  • resilienttransit.org
Additional TRB resources:
  • TRB Snap Search: Air Quality & Climate Change
  • Marine Board 2017 Fall
  • Conference Proceedings 53: Transportation Resilience: Adaptation to Climate Change
  • Surface Transportation System Resilience to Climate Change and Extreme Weather Events: First International Conference eCircular
  • TRB Straight to Recording for All: Climate Resilient and Sustainable Transportation: Strategic Economic and Financial Management Challenges and Opportunities with FAST Act
  • Critical Infrastructure, Emergency Evacuation, and Logistics of Disaster Recovery, Transportation Research Record (TRR)


Contact:
Beth Ewoldsen, Content Strategist
Transportation Research Board
202-334-2353; bewoldsen@nas.edu
Updated August 31, 2020


E-Newsletter Type: TRB News    


This Summary Last Modified On: 1/27/2021
Text Size: Increase Text Size Decrease Text Size
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
500 Fifth Street, NW | Washington, DC 20001 | T: 202.334.2000
Copyright © 2021 National Academy of Sciences. All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use and Privacy Statement
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine 500 Fifth Street, NW | Washington, DC 20001 | T: 202.334.2000 Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use and Privacy Statement

Loading... Loading...
Please click here to view our sponsor's message.