FHWA announces Resilience Webinar Series

Washington, D.C. — FHWA is holding seven webinars on the results of four different resilience-focused projects conducted in cooperation with its state and local partners. FHWA has developed information, examples, and lessons learned on integrating resilience concerns into planning, project development and project engineering. Information on each webinar and a registration link are listed below.

External participants (those who do not have an x.y@dot.gov email address) will first need to establish an account on the FHWA site. This can take 24 hours. Users must then login using this account to register for an FHWA webinar.

Step-by step instructions on how to request an account can be found at https://connectdot.connectsolutions.com/espnon-dotstaff.

It can take 48 hours to register; same-day registration is not possible unless you already have a DOT webinars login. Each webinar will be held once; recordings will be made available at https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/sustainability/resilience/webinars.

Synthesis of Approaches for Addressing Resilience in Project Development

This report (and the first three webinars) focuses on developing lessons learned from recent FHWA studies and pilot projects to help transportation agencies address changing climate conditions and extreme weather events on transportation projects. It provides information to help State DOTs and local transportation agencies address resilience in project development. The report addresses resilience in two ways. It summarizes a range of climate sensitivities, potential adaptation strategies, and key lessons learned from adaptation case studies for each of four engineering disciplines. It also addresses overarching issues involved in addressing resilience on transportation projects and developing engineering informed adaptation studies.

• Approaches for addressing Resilience in Project Development (September 28, 2017, 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. Eastern). This first webinar will focus on three cross-cutting topics related to conducting engineering informed adaptation studies: integrating resilience into the project development process, understanding and applying climate science information, and using economic analysis to support decision-making. Register for the webinar at https://collaboration.fhwa.dot.gov/dot/fhwa/WC/Lists/Seminars/DispForm.aspx?ID=1451.
• Lessons Learned in Transportation Engineering Related to Coastal and Riverine Flooding (October 5, 2017, 1:00 – 3:00 Eastern). This webinar will present lessons learned from case studies examining the effects of sea level rise, storm surge and wave impacts from extreme storms on coastal bridges and roadways. It will also look at effects of changing precipitation and wildfire on an inland riverine watershed. Adaptive design and overcoming challenges with uncertainty and climate data resolution will also be discussed. Register for the webinar at https://collaboration.fhwa.dot.gov/dot/fhwa/WC/Lists/Seminars/DispForm.aspx?ID=1452.
• Lessons Learned in Transportation Engineering Related to Pavement/Soils and Mechanical/Electrical Vulnerabilities (October 12, 1:00 – 3:00 Eastern). This webinar will provide an overview of the impacts of extreme weather events and climate on pavement and soil and rock slopes within transportation corridors, and potential adaptation strategies to increase resilience of the transportation system. Overview of methods to adapt mechanical and electrical systems to climate stressors from sea level rise, storm surge, and increased precipitation, increasing temperatures and high winds will also be presented. Register for the webinar at https://collaboration.fhwa.dot.gov/dot/fhwa/WC/Lists/Seminars/DispForm.aspx?ID=1453.

Post-Hurricane Sandy Transportation Resilience Study in NY, NJ, & CT

(October 26, 2017, 1:00-2:30 pm Eastern)

This webinar will provide an overview of this recently completed research study which sought to better understand the vulnerability of the transportation system in the NY, NJ, and CT metropolitan region to the impacts of extreme weather events and climate, and to identify potential adaptation strategies to increase the resilience of the transportation system. Register for the webinar at https://collaboration.fhwa.dot.gov/dot/fhwa/WC/Lists/Seminars/DispForm.aspx?ID=1455.

Green Infrastructure Pilots I

(November 2, 2017, 1:00-2:30 Eastern)

Coastal green infrastructure such as dunes, wetlands, living shorelines, reefs, and beaches can protect highways from coastal flooding. FHWA sponsored five green infrastructure pilot projects to assess the potential for such techniques to protect specific locations along coastal roads and bridges. In this webinar, staff from the departments of transportation (DOTs) for Oregon, Maine, and New Hampshire will present the results of their assessments. Oregon DOT will discuss conceptual designs the agency developed for three locations along coastal highway US 101 vulnerable to storms and coastal bluff erosion. These designs include cobble beaches, artificial dunes, sand tubes, mechanically stabilized earth, riprap, and planted terraces. Maine and New Hampshire DOTs will present the results of their joint project, analyzing nature-based solutions to protect from sea level rise and storm surge at sites along Route 209 in Maine and Route 1B in New Hampshire. Register for the webinar at https://collaboration.fhwa.dot.gov/dot/fhwa/WC/Lists/Seminars/DispForm.aspx?ID=1462.

Green Infrastructure Pilots II

(November 9, 2017, 1:00-2:30 Eastern)

In this second webinar on FHWA-sponsored green infrastructure pilots, participants will hear the results from pilots in Delaware, Mississippi, and New Jersey. Delaware DOT will present its analysis of techniques including oyster reefs, tide flaps, and marsh restoration on the bay side of the barrier island to protect two locations along the state’s main coastal road connecting beach towns key to the state’s economy. Delaware DOT will also discuss how the project helped the agency develop design memoranda to better incorporate green infrastructure solutions into future projects. Mississippi DOT analyzed the potential for vegetated berms and other strategies to protect the reconstructed approach spans to the Henderson Point Bridge, which were destroyed during Hurricane Katrina. Working with multiple partners in New Jersey, the US Army Corps of Engineers studied high water events along Great Bay Boulevard along Barnegat Bay and marsh restoration strategies that could reduce flooding of the road. Register for the webinar at https://collaboration.fhwa.dot.gov/dot/fhwa/WC/Lists/Seminars/DispForm.aspx?ID=1463.

FHWA’s Climate Change & Extreme Weather Vulnerability Assessment Framework

(November 16, 2017, 1:00-2:30 Eastern)

This webinar will present an updated and expanded version of FHWA’s 2012 Framework. The guide provides an in-depth process for conducting a vulnerability assessment using examples from across the country over the past seven years. Register for the webinar at https://collaboration.fhwa.dot.gov/dot/fhwa/WC/Lists/Seminars/DispForm.aspx?ID=1457.