Completion of Hydrologic Design and Platform Data (TR-792 Phase II)
Flooding is Iowa's most persistent and costly natural hazard, responsible for approximately 80 percent of all federally declared disasters in the state since 1989. The Iowa Highway Research Board (IHRB) Project TR-792 demonstrated that On-Road Structures (ORS) are a practical tool for reducing peak flows and protecting downstream communities and infrastructure. TR-792 identified approximately 250,000 potential ORS sites statewide, developed an automated hydrologic design methodology, and deployed results through the Iowa DOT On-Road Structures (IDOT-ORS) web platform. Watershed-scale modeling in six representative HUC12 watersheds showed that strategically deployed ORS systems can reduce 50-year storm peak flows by approximately 18 percent at watershed outlets. This Phase II proposal will build upon and expand the work completed by TR-792 by working on three interlinked objectives. Objective 1 extends the automated planning design methodology to all feasible ORS sites across Iowa, including scenario analyses that evaluate the effect of alternative roadway elevation assumptions (e.g., raising the road by one or three feet). Objective 2 develops a surrogate machine-learning model, trained on process-based hydrologic simulations, to enable rapid, large-scale estimation of watershed-scale flood reduction benefits. Objective 3 modernizes the IDOT-ORS platform, integrates all new datasets and scenario modeling capabilities, and deploys a targeted communication strategy, including educational videos, training materials, and digital brochures to translate technical outputs into actionable guidance for county engineers, watershed managers, and emergency management professionals. Similar to the approach followed for TR-792, the proposed research will be performed by a team of researchers from Iowa State University and The University of Iowa.
Language
- English
Project
- Status: Active
- Funding: $392,885.00
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Contract Numbers:
TR-850
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Sponsor Organizations:
Iowa Department of Transportation
800 Lincoln Way
Ames, IA United States 50010 -
Managing Organizations:
Iowa Department of Transportation
800 Lincoln Way
Ames, IA United States 50010 -
Project Managers:
Goetz, Vanessa
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Performing Organizations:
Iowa Department of Transportation
800 Lincoln Way
Ames, IA United States 50010 -
Principal Investigators:
Arenas, Antonio
- Start Date: 20260901
- Expected Completion Date: 0
- Actual Completion Date: 20290901
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Culverts; Floods; Hydraulics; Hydrology; Machine learning; Research
- Geographic Terms: Iowa
- Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Highways; Hydraulics and Hydrology; Maintenance and Preservation; Research;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 02001928
- Record Type: Research project
- Source Agency: Iowa Department of Transportation
- Contract Numbers: TR-850
- Files: RIP, STATEDOT
- Created Date: Sep 10 2026 11:49AM