SESSION: CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATIONS
Toward a More Resilient Transportation System: Adapting to Climate Change in the Wake of Hurricane Sandy
Heather Holsinger, Environmental Specialist, FHWA
Brian ten Siethoff, Principal, Cambridge Systematics
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is collaborating with partners in Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York on a project
to enhance the region’s resiliency to climate change and extreme weather in the longer-term, while informing the ongoing
Hurricane Sandy recovery process. Building from a FHWA-sponsored New Jersey vulnerability assessment pilot, performed in
2011, the study will survey the damage and disruption wrought by Hurricane Sandy on the region’s transportation systems, along
with that of Hurricane Irene, Tropical Storm Lee, and Winter Storm Alfred (the Halloween Nor’easter of 2011). The project
partnership will leverage the lessons learned from these events, as well as future climate projections, to develop feasible, costeffective strategies to reduce and manage extreme weather vulnerabilities amid the uncertainties of a changing climate. A selection
of regionally significant transportation facilities—ranging from roads, to bridges, tunnels, and ports—has been chosen by the
region’s transportation agencies for a more detailed, engineering-based assessment. Results from the engineering assessments
will inform a multimodal transportation vulnerability and risk assessment for the region. In addition, the project partnership will
develop strategies for bolstering transportation resiliency for a selection of critical subareas. The project will provide information to
agencies in the tri-state region—and nationwide—that seek to plan and invest for long-term climate resiliency while addressing
today’s transportation challenges. A representative from FHWA and/or one of project partner organizations will discuss the overall
project and some of the preliminary results. If requested, an overview of the FHWA’s broader climate resiliency work could also be
provided.
Heather Holsinger is an Environmental Specialist with the Sustainable Transport and Climate Change Team in FHWA's Office of Natural Environment. Her work at FHWA
involves policy development and analysis in the areas of climate change adaptation, sustainability, and electric vehicles. Prior to joining FHWA, Heather served as a Senior
Policy Fellow and Program Manager for Adaptation at the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, a Senior Analyst with the Natural Resources and Environment team at the
U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), and as an economic and environmental management consultant. She holds Masters Degrees from Duke University in resource
economics and public policy and a BA from the University of Virginia with majors in Economics and Environmental Science.
Brian ten Siethoff is a Principal of Cambridge Systematics, with 14 years of experience. He oversees Cambridge Systematics’ Transportation Planning and Management
business line for the Northeast region. Mr. ten Siethoff is part of the FHWA Post-Hurricane Sandy Transportation Resiliency project management team, and was part of the
NJTPA Climate Change Vulnerability and Risk Assessment pilot technical team. Mr. ten Siethoff received both a Master’s degree and a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering
from The University of Texas at Austin.
Office of Planning, Environment and Realty
Sustainable Transport & Climate Change Team
Toward a More Resilient
Transportation System:
Adapting to Climate Change in
the Wake of Hurricane Sandy
TRB ADC-60 Summer
Workshop
Heather Holsinger, FHWA
Brian ten Siethoff,
Cambridge Systematics
June 18, 2014
Photo: Flooding of the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel in NYC due
to Hurricane Sandy. Source: MTA
2
US DOT Role and Mandate
• 23 USC: “protect safety, ensure mobility,”
• U.S. DOT Policy statement (2011):
“USDOT shall integrate consideration of climate change impacts and adaptation into the planning,
operations, policies, and programs of DOT in order to ensure that taxpayer resources are
invested wisely and that transportation infrastructure, services and operations remain effective in
current and future climate conditions.”
• Executive Order: Climate Preparedness (2013)
• MAP-21:
– Planning: Includes consideration of vulnerability to climate change impacts
in MPO scenario planning
– Asset Management: State DOTs required to develop asset management
plans that address risks—climate change and extreme weather expected to
be included in proposed rule as examples of types of risks could consider
• GROW AMERICA Act: would require states and MPOs to plan for
climate resilience
Climate Change Adaptation at FHWA
Goal: Regular/Systematic
consideration of climate change
vulnerability and risk in transportation
decision making, at:
• 1) Systems Level: Transportation
Planning, Asset Management
• 2) Project Level: Environmental
process, Preliminary Engineering,
Design, Construction, Operations,
Maintenance
Systems Level Goal: Consideration in Transportation
Planning, Asset Management
Key Product:
• Updated Climate Change & Extreme Weather
Vulnerability Assessment Framework (2015)
Activities:
• Climate Resilience Pilots – round 2
• Gulf Coast 2 (Mobile)
• Hurricane Sandy Follow-up and Vulnerability
Assessment & Adaptation Analysis
• Central NM Climate Change Scenario Planning Project
5
Project Level Goal: Consideration in Environmental Process, Preliminary
Engineering, Design, Construction, Operations, Maintenance
Key Products:
• Updated engineering manuals, methods and
processes
Activities:
• Engineering Assessments
– Gulf Coast 2 (Mobile)
– Hurricane Sandy Follow-up and Vulnerability Assessment &
Adaptation Analysis
– Transportation Engineering Approaches to Climate Resiliency
– Climate Resilience Pilots
• HEC 25 - Vol 2: Highways in the Coastal
Environment: Extreme Events
• Hydrology, hydraulic engineering research efforts, etc.
6
Climate Resilience Pilot &
Other Project Locations
7
FHWA’s Climate Change & Extreme Weather
Vulnerability Assessment Framework (2012)
Define Project Scope
• Objectives
• Relevant Assets
• Climate Variables
Assess Vulnerability
• Climate Inputs
• Asset data, criticality,
sensitivity
• Vulnerabilities, risk
Integrate Vulnerability Into
Decision Making
8
2013-2014 Climate Resilience Pilot Program
Pilots using and building on FHWA’s Climate Change &
Extreme Weather Vulnerability Assessment Framework
19 Pilots
Tennessee
Iowa
Maine
Minnesota
Michigan
California
Arizona
Washington
Alaska
NCTCOG
Oregon
CAMPO (Austin)
Connecticut
Hillsboro MPO
New York
South Florida
Maryland
MPOs
Massachusetts
MTC (San
Francisco)
• Vulnerability and/or adaptation
• Asset management
• Hydraulics, hydrology
• Broad geographic coverage and
range of impacts
• Furthering the state of practice in
resilience to climate change
• FHWA plans to update the
framework in 2015 based on
lessons from the pilots
Technical guidance: HEC-25 Volume 2
• Highways in the Coastal
Environment: Assessing
Extreme Events
• Technical guidance,
methods for incorporating
extreme events and
climate change into
coastal highway designs
• Focus on sea level rise,
storm surge, wave action
• Summer 2014
10
Gulf Coast 2 Project: Mobile, Alabama
Phase 1 Study Area
Primary Tasks
1. Identify critical transportation
assets in Mobile (complete)
Phase 2 Study Area
2. Identify climate effects, assess
infrastructure sensitivity
(complete)
3. Assess vulnerability of critical
assets (Summer 2014)
4. Develop transferable risk
management tools (Summer
2014)
11
Gulf Coast 2 Project (cont.)
Vulnerability Screen
• High-level analysis to find
assets most likely to be
vulnerable to future changes
(systems level)
Engineering Assessments
• Detailed assessments of
specific assets in Mobile
(project level)
• Eleven case studies
12
Post-Hurricane Sandy Project
• Builds on a FHWA
2011 NJ pilot
• Learn from
experience of
Sandy and identify
strategies to
improve resiliency
SLR 1 Meter, 2100, Coastal Study Area (Roadways). Source NJTPA 13
Post-Hurricane Sandy Project (cont.)
• Project Partners:
–
–
–
–
FHWA
FTA
NY, NJ, and CT DOTs
Metro area MPOs: NYMTC,
NJTPA, SWRPA, and GBRC
– MTA
– Port Authority
Sandy Project Study Area
• Project Consultants:
– Cambridge Systematics
(prime)
– AECOM
– Stratus Consulting
– Office of Radley Horton
14
Post-Hurricane Sandy Project (cont.)
• Primary tasks:
– Assessment of damages, lessons learned, gaps in
climate analysis
– Analysis of adaptation options for 10 transportation
assets (project level)
– Region-wide multimodal vulnerability assessment
(systems level)
15
Extreme Weather Impacts Assessment
• Analyze historical data
from recent stormrelated damage and
disruption
• Collect information on
existing climate
projections
• Conduct gap analysis
to inform our
assessment of future
scenarios
Regional Damage Assessment: Data
Sources
Summary of FHWA ER Projects (DRAFT)
FHWA Relief Projects by Asset Class
(DRAFT)
FHWA Relief Projects by Climate Stressor
(DRAFT)
FHWA Relief Projects by Failure Mode
(DRAFT)
Review of Existing Climate Info and Gap
Analysis
• Identified climate
stressors of concern for
region:
– Storm surge
– Heavy rain and inland
flooding
– High temperature events
– High wind events
• Reviewed existing
projections
• Some supplementation
likely required for the
purposes of the gap
analysis
Engineering-Based Adaptation Assessment
Engineering-Based Adaptation Assessment
Process
Divided into 4 modules:
• Module 1: Define Climate
Impacts
• Module 2: Define Asset and
Assess Vulnerability
• Module 3: Assess Risk—
Likelihood and Consequence
• Module 4: Develop and Select
Adaptation Strategies
Regional Vulnerability Assessment
• Identify future climate effects for analysis
• Conduct vulnerability assessment of
transportation assets in the region building on
previous project work
• Identify and map critically vulnerable sub-areas
in the region
• Conduct a planning-level assessment of
adaptive capacity
• Systems-level adaptation analysis for
transportation assets in vulnerable subareas
Thank you!
Heather Holsinger (FHWA): Heather.Holsinger@dot.gov
Brian ten Siethoff (CS): btensiethoff@camsys.com
BRI
26