1. U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration 1 Adaptation to Global Climate Change Effects: FHWA Activities AASHTO Subcommittee on Design July 27, 2010 Columbia, South Carolina Michael Culp Senior Environmental Protection Specialist FHWA Office of Environment, Planning & RE Jon Obenberger, Ph.D., P.E. Preconstruction Team Leader FHWA Infrastructure Office of Program Administration

2. 2 2 Adapting to climate change: The Potential for Costly Impacts Houston, TX. Adapted from Virginia Burkett, USGS

3. 3 What is Adaptation? Actions to avoid, withstand, or take advantage of climate changes and impacts  Adapting transportation assets to the new and emerging effects of climate change  Magnitude of change is difficult to assess  Potential implications for where we locate and how we build

4. 44 Climate Change Effects Changes in sea levels due to sea level rise, subsidence Increased storm surge Changes in temperature Changes in precipitation

5. 5 Long term U.S. Climate Effect Projections Heavy precipitation events will occur more often, and be more intense The northern US will experience increases in precipitation and humidity, while the south becomes drier Temperatures will continue to warm, by 4 to 11 F. Heat waves will occur more frequently Sea levels are expected to increase by 3 to 4 feet

6. 6 Potential impacts on transportation infrastructure Potential impacts include:  Permanent inundation of roads  Temporary flooding of roads  Weakening of land, substructure supporting roads, bridges  Increased stream flow, erosion and bridge scour  Pavement cracking, deformation; sun kinks (rail deformation)

7. 7 Adaptation Options Maintain and manage  Higher maintenance costs Protect, strengthen  Sea walls, buffers, design changes Relocate  Move key facilities, instead of rebuilding Promote redundancy  Emergency management

8. 8 FHWA Adaptation Strategy Plan & roadmap to prioritize & address key climate change adaptation issues:  Aligned w/ USDOT Climate Change Initiative  Includes FHWA multi-office adaptation activities  Focus all aspects & phases in project delivery: Develop outreach & awareness material Develop & pilot vulnerability & risk conceptual model Facilitate topic specific studies (e.g., Gulf Coast Study) Identify research, guidance & training needs

9. Assess transportation systems & infrastructure:  Develop inventory of infrastructure assets  Gather climate data  Assess risk and vulnerability Identify which assets:  Are most exposed to threats from climate change  Could have the most serious consequences if affected  Identify possible mitigation strategies Implementation Pilots 9 Vulnerability/Risk Assessment Conceptual Model

10. Gulf Coast Study - Phase II “Impacts of Climate Change and Variability on Transportation Systems and Infrastructure” Comprehensive assessment of how climate change will affect transportation in the Gulf Coast area Process for assessing critical transportation infrastructure, projecting climate change effects, evaluating vulnerability, and conducting detailed engineering assessments for vulnerable assets in Mobile, AL 10

11. 11 Peer Exchanges FHWA has conducted two peer exchanges (December 2008, 2009) Participants were upper level management of State DOTs Observations include  Low level of current activity related to adaptation  Address significant research & technical assistance needs  Expand inter/Intra-agency relationships  Provide more geographically-relevant climate effects data  Ramp up public outreach & education

12. Implications for Project Design Many transportation investments have long design lives and are very vulnerable to GCC effects Design parameters & conduct appropriate analysis:  Bridges: Design approach that addresses wave force, storm surge and scour vulnerabilities  Pavement Design: Improved methodology for assessing pavement damage due to prolonged inundation, rising water tables and increased freeze/thaw cycle frequency  Hydraulics: Modeling and design to account for greater frequency of 100-year storms and other intense conditions

13. FHWA’s Next Steps: Conduct pilot & continue to develop climate change vulnerability & risk conceptual model AASHTO & FHWA Symposium on Climate Change, Washington, DC, Aug. 5-6, 2010 AASHTO & FHWA Workshop – develop research & technology transfer agenda/roadmap Coordinate integration of climate change & adaptation w/ other FHWA programs & national initiatives Continue to conduct outreach & develop material

14. Available Resources: USDOT Climate Change Clearinghouse: http://www.climate.dot.gov/ FHWA Climate Change & Adaptation Initiative: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/climate/index.htm AASHTO Center for Environmental Excellence: http://www.environment.transportation.org/ FHWA Contacts:  Michael Culp Michael.Culp@dot.gov  John Davies JohnG.Davies@dot.govJohnG.Davies@dot.gov  Rob Kafalenos Robert.Kafalenos@dot.govRobert.Kafalenos@dot.gov