Protecting People in Midwest Road and Transport Systems During Periods of Extreme Heat
US transportation infrastructure requires significant increases in resilience to periods of extreme heat. Periods of extreme heat (as well as the related conditions of higher dew points and higher solar insolation) are increasing. This increase is clear in the observational record, and is one of the most certain climate impact predictions. Retrofits, operational adaptations, and changes to new construction are all needed to prevent economic disruption from road and rail transport problems related to extreme heat. This proposal moves beyond this first-order engineering problem of designing for extreme heat, and considers two critical second order problems: (a) the protection of people during extreme heat transportation emergencies; and (b) the compound effects of extreme heat and power outage. The research team will consider how operators, repair crews, the public, and public safety personnel can be kept safe on and around road and rail systems during extreme heat events. The team will consider extreme heat events on their own and compounded with power outage. The specific objectives include: create state and decade-specific (2020s, 2030s, 2040s, & 2050s) probabilities for extreme conditions, including geophysical variables (air temperature, winds, precipitation, soil moisture, solar insolation, and humidity); these will be coupled with existing models to derive human heat stress indices and infrastructure surface temperatures. Fault tree analyses will be conducted to assess critical factors that influence mortality of people during a “simple” extreme heat event, and during extreme heat combined with power outage.
Language
- English
Project
- Status: Completed
- Funding: $179,889.00
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Contract Numbers:
69A3552348307
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Sponsor Organizations:
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology
University Transportation Centers Program
Department of Transportation
Washington, DC United States 20590 -
Managing Organizations:
Mid-America Transportation Center
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
2200 Vine Street, PO Box 830851
Lincoln, NE United States 68583-0851 -
Project Managers:
Stearns, Amy
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Performing Organizations:
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
4105 Seamans Center for the Engineering Arts and Sciences
Iowa City, IA United States 52242 -
Principal Investigators:
Stanier, Charles
- Start Date: 20230601
- Expected Completion Date: 20250531
- Actual Completion Date: 20250531
- USDOT Program: University Transportation Centers Program
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Disaster resilience; Forecasting; Heat; High temperature; Power output; Stress (Psychology); Temperature; Transportation planning
- Geographic Terms: Midwest United States
- Subject Areas: Energy; Planning and Forecasting; Safety and Human Factors; Security and Emergencies; Transportation (General);
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 01955089
- Record Type: Research project
- Source Agency: Mid-America Transportation Center
- Contract Numbers: 69A3552348307
- Files: UTC, RIP
- Created Date: May 15 2025 3:02PM