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Title:

A Hierarchal Approach for Prioritizing Adaptation Needs for Roads and Bridges Exposed to Coastal Flooding in the Broad Sound Area of Coastal Massachusetts

Accession Number:

01665959

Record Type:

Component

Abstract:

The current study addresses the issue of vulnerability assessment of transportation systems to climate change, with the purpose of improving current approaches, particularly indicator-based approaches. It builds upon other efforts in this field, with the goal of enhancing rationality in the decision-making process, by minimizing arbitrary choices. Transportation systems have been experiencing the growing impact of climate change in recent decades. Focusing on coastal areas, especially influential are sea level rise and potentially more intensive and more frequent storms, which are expected to become even more severe in the future. Consequently, policy-makers need to consider adaptation plans that will prevent substantial interruption to the communities that are dependent upon the transportation system. The first step in such adaptation planning is identifying the most vulnerable sections of the system through vulnerability assessments. A common approach in the transportation field and elsewhere is the indicator-based approach, wherein various vulnerability indicators are integrated to create vulnerability scores. This approach has some limitations, especially in the way indicators are aggregated and weighted. The current study deals with these limitations (as well as with data restriction) by introducing an approach that prioritizes indicators and components in the assessment to create a list of assets, ordered for adaptation needs. Roads and bridges are analyzed separately in different schemes, and the results are presented both in a table and a map format, wherein the latter demonstrates the relevant features to the users, with the purpose of providing a vulnerability assessment that is transparent, modifiable, and rational.

Supplemental Notes:

This paper was sponsored by TRB committee ABR10 Standing Committee on Critical Transportation Infrastructure Protection.

Report/Paper Numbers:

18-05974

Language:

English

Authors:

Barankin, Ram A
Kirshen, Paul
Watson, Chris
Dinezio, Stephanie
Miller, Steven
Douglas, Ellen
Bosma, Kirk F
McArthur, Katherin
Bowen, Robert E

Pagination:

21p

Publication Date:

2018

Conference:

Transportation Research Board 97th Annual Meeting

Location: Washington DC, United States
Date: 2018-1-7 to 2018-1-11
Sponsors: Transportation Research Board

Media Type:

Digital/other

Features:

Figures; Maps; References; Tables

Geographic Terms:

Massachusetts

Subject Areas:

Bridges and other structures; Environment; Highways; Planning and Forecasting

Source Data:

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2018 Paper #18-05974

Files:

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Created Date:

Jan 8 2018 11:32AM