Transportation Resilience Tools from the U.S. Department of Transportation

Abstract:

The U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) and ICF International have been working to develop tools and resources to help state departments of transportation (DOTs) and metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) prepare for the impacts of climate change. U.S. DOT recently released a set of climate change and extreme weather tools for state DOTs and MPOs that address key challenges they have faced in increasing their climate change resilience. The tools were developed under the U.S. DOT Gulf Coast Study, Phase 2. The CMIP Climate Data Processing Tool provides an easy way for users to gather and process downscaled climate model data at the local level, and “translates” that data into information relevant to transportation engineers and planners. The Vulnerability Assessment Scoring Tool (VAST), provides a step-by-step approach for users to assess their vulnerability to climate change in a transparent, cost-effective way. The Transportation Climate Change Sensitivity Matrix provides detailed information on how 11 different climate stressors may affect transportation infrastructure and operations. These tools significantly advance the state of the practice for transportation agencies to respond to climate change impacts, and beta-versions have been used successfully by several state DOTs and MPOs. This presentation will focus on these tools, examples of how they can be applied within transportation agencies, and opportunities to apply the lessons learned from the tools—or even the tools themselves—beyond the transportation sector, including as part of the national Climate Resilience Toolkit.