Multiyear Plan for Bridge and Tunnel Security Research, Development, and Deployment

Transportation is identified as one of the critical infrastructures under Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD) 7. It is essential for mobility and commerce, and plays a critical role in times of crisis. Our highways are essential for evacuation, and in the response and recovery effort. We have approximately 600,000 bridges and 300 tunnels on the highway network and many of these can be considered as being critical structures and/or on essential corridors. A damaged bridge or tunnel has an enormous impact on a city, a region, and possibly the Nation. Although the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has always been active in conducting research and development to mitigate natural hazards such as flooding and scour, earthquakes, wind, and wind-induced events, designing for security is a new task. Because the challenge is tremendous, FHWA has led multiple outreach sessions to identify needs and gaps. This input provided by experts in the field of bridge engineering and others has been evaluated and a program has been proposed to design highway bridges and tunnels for security.