EBC Webinar: Resilience Strategies for Low Lying Roadways
| Low-lying roadways in New England and across the globe face increasing threats from flooding from sea level rise, more frequent and intense precipitation, and rising groundwater levels. This risk is compounded in that many of these same roadways are critical to provide emergency evacuation, response, and recovery services for extreme weather events. Beyond road closures and isolated communities, there are additional safety concerns from submerged roadways, including road washout and bridge scouring, overloading of drainage systems, and compromised structural integrity of pavement, embankments, bridges, and tunnels, as well as increased maintenance costs. This EBC Climate Change webinar explores the challenges faced by low-lying roadways and the communities they serve. We will hear from several New England state DOTs and industry experts on how low-lying roadways – both inland and coastal – are getting to grade through several case studies. Learn how organizations are: evaluating their roadway vulnerability, developing guidelines for best practices for resilient roadways, and adapting roadway materials, design, and operations to increase resiliency. A robust panel discussion with the audience will conclude the webinar. Speakers: – Maine’s Experience with Implementing Resilience Strategies Joyce Taylor, Chief Engineer, Maine Department of Transportation – Fostering Regional Resilience: SNHPC’s roadway adaptation toolkit Suzanne Nienaber, Principal Planner, Southern New Hampshire Planning Commission – MassDOT’s Flood Mitigation Projects: Successes and Learning Experiences: Past Work and Looking Forward Hung Pham, Senior Program Manager – Roadway Reconstruction and Resiliency Programs, Massachusetts Department of Transportation – Climate Resilient Pavements and the Role of Nature Based Solutions Jo Sias, Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of New Hampshire |