The transportation sector’s contribution to climate change is well-documented. The latest EPA greenhouse gas inventory ascribes 26% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions to cars, trucks, buses, trains, aircraft, construction vehicles and ships, a slightly higher percentage than in 1990. But there has been no comprehensive analysis of how expected climate change impacts will affect the nation’s transportation infrastructure and operations — until now.
A 218-page report released this week by the Transportation Research Board and National Research Council finally examines the issue, painting a grim picture of climate change’s potential threat to roads, rails, airports and ports. The report identifies five principal climate change outcomes of importance to transportation systems:
- Increases in very hot days and heat waves — threatening the integrity of roads, bridges and rail tracks.
- Increases in Arctic temperatures (relevant for far North America) — resulting in more ice-free shipping ports, but thawing of permafrost could cause subsidence of roads, rail beds, and bridges.
- Rising sea levels, combined with storm surges — flooding of roads, rail lines, tunnels, etc. in coastal areas. (The picture at right shows, shaded in gray, areas less than 10 feet above sea level, including Newark Airport, southern Brooklyn, Battery Park City in Manhattan, and the Rockaways in Queens.)
- Increases in intense precipitation events — causing flooding of roads, rail lines, tunnels, etc., and increases in road washout and damages to rail-beds.
- More frequent strong hurricanes — raising the probability of infrastructure failures.
