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Adaptation to Extreme Weather Events and

Climate Change

AASHTO SCOH meeting

Butch Waidelich, FHWA

May 29, 2014

Office of Planning, Environment and RealtyOffice of Infrastructure

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Resilience to Extreme Weather and Climate Change

• FHWA Goal: Transportation system that continues to provide safe mobility upon which the economy and lives depend under current and future climate conditions.

• Objective: Systematic consideration of climate risk at transportation system and project levels.

• Approach: • Research and Technical Assistance:

Develop and share information and tools that State DOTs and MPOs can use to assess risk and improve resilience.

• Funding Eligibility: Funds can be used for climate adaptation.

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Activities: System & Project level focus

• Climate Resilience Pilots – round 2 (s,p)• Gulf Coast 2 (Mobile) (s,p)• Hurricane Sandy Follow-up and Vulnerability Assessment

& Adaptation Analysis (s,p)• Central NM Climate Change Scenario Planning Project (s,p)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------• HEC 25 - Volume 2: Highways in the Coastal Environment:

Assessing Extreme Events (p)• Hydrology efforts w/NWS, climate engineering analyses on

Gulf Coast 2, Post Sandy project, New nationwide engineering case study project (p)

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Technical guidance: HEC-25 Volume 2

• Highways in the Coastal Environment: Assessing Extreme Events

• Technical guidance and methods for incorporating extreme events and climate change into coastal highway designs

• Focus on sea level rise, storm surge, wave action

• Coming soon (Summer 2014)

Home Page

Module 2Identify Climate

StressorsModule 3

Select Assets

Module 4Assess

Vulnerabilities

Module 5Integrate in

Decision Making

Module 6Monitor and

Revisit

Module 1Articulate Objectives

Sensitivity Matrix

Criticality Guidance CMIP Climate DataProcessing Tool

Vulnerability Assessment Scoring Tool

EngineeringCase Studies

Tools Development and DeploymentTools Development and Deployment

5http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/climate_change/adaptation/