Hydrologic and Hydraulic Design Guide to Incorporate Climate Science in Transportation Infrastructure

State departments of transportation (DOTs) are being asked to account for climate change in hydrologic and hydraulic (H&H) design practices. Current H&H design procedures stipulate the use of historical data assumed to represent a stationary process. Climate change introduces non-stationary risks such as rise in sea level, rise in temperature, and changes in the timing and distribution of precipitation, snowpack, and snowmelt. Failure to account for such non-stationary risks may compromise the operational characteristics of existing and future transportation infrastructure. NCHRP Project 15-61, "Applying Climate Change Information to Hydrologic and Hydraulic Design of Transportation Infrastructure," delivered a document titled "Applying Climate Change Information to Hydrologic and Coastal Design of Transportation Infrastructure: Design Practices." Additionally, NCHRP Project 20-44(23) conducted pilot tests with state DOTs to determine the effectiveness and ease of implementation of the guidelines developed under NCHRP Project 15-61. Research is needed to incorporate additional climate science information into inland and coastal H&H design of transportation infrastructure. The objective of this research is to develop a guide for state DOTs and practitioners to use when applying climate science information to inland and coastal H&H design of transportation infrastructure. The guide must be based on defensible climate science and methods, and be focused on engineering practices.

• Record URL:
  http://apps.trb.org/cmsfeed/TRBNetProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=4913
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Contract to a Performing Organization has not yet been awarded.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Proposed
• Funding: $400000
• Contract Numbers:

  Project 15-61A

• Sponsor Organizations:

  National Cooperative Highway Research Program

  Transportation Research Board
  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001

  American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)

  444 North Capitol Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Project Managers:

  Barcena, Roberto

• Start Date: 20230629
• Expected Completion Date: 0
• Actual Completion Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Climate change; Coastal engineering; Design; Handbooks; Hydraulics; Hydrology; Infrastructure; Sea level; Snow; Snowmelt; State departments of transportation
• Subject Areas: Design; Environment; Highways; Hydraulics and Hydrology; Planning and Forecasting;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01735857
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Transportation Research Board
• Contract Numbers: Project 15-61A
• Files: TRB, RIP
• Created Date: Apr 6 2020 7:54PM