Virginia Transportation Vulnerability Assessment

High Street executed the process for identifying roadway vulnerability to flooding hazards under alternative futures with different levels of hazard severity. The process considered three hazards (i.e., storm surge, sea-level rise, and inland riverine flooding) under three high, medium, and low severity levels, based on impact probabilities. Vulnerability for road ways and bridges was assessed at the segment and structure level based on exposure to these hazards under each severity level, as well as the infrastructure’s sensitivity and ability to adapt to disruptions. Sensitivity depends on infrastructure type (e.g., asphalt vs concrete pavement), infrastructure condition, as well as other factors such as historical weather-related damage or closure. Adaptive capacity depending on traffic volumes, functional classification or bridge importance factors, the presence of a navigable waterway under a bridge, whether or not the road or structure is part of a hurricane evacuation route, and presence on major interregional corridors. High Street developed guidance for the website team to use to develop an interactive online tool that allows users to adjust the weights of components of vulnerability and recalculate the vulnerability score.