Taking a Key Role in Reducing Disaster Risks

Natural and human-induced hazardous events can have significant impacts on transportation infrastructure. Certain links in the highway network – especially bridges on essential routes -- are critical in that their incapacitation would cause great physical and economic disruption. Recognizing that most hazards cannot be prevented, the White House's National Science and Technology Council established the Subcommittee on Disaster Reduction (SDR), charged with prioritizing Federal investments in science and technology to enhance disaster resilience. To accomplish this goal, the subcommittee crafted a 10-year strategy identifying six "grand challenges" to enhance community resilience and thus create a more disaster-resilient Nation. The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) are carrying out research and development (RD coastal inundation; wind, including hurricanes; earthquakes; and technological hazards, including terrorism. The emphasis is on the engineering aspects of building disaster resiliency into the transportation infrastructure for ease in response and recovery. Each event imparts loads on a structure of different magnitude, direction, and location, so one solution will not always satisfy all hazard requirements. The R&D effort underway focuses on single hazards, develops solutions, and then ensures the solutions are compatible with other hazards before implementation. Research conducted at TFHRC is helping build a resilient transportation system that continues to function during and after hazard events.