Local Transportation Decisions for a Resilient Future
PI: Martha Sheils (New England Environmental Finance Center, USM)
Sector: Climate Science, Policy
Partners: MaineDOT, GEI Consultants Inc.
Abstract: It is a challenge for Maine’s municipalities to respond to long-term impacts of sea level rise and increased precipitation that threaten their economic viability. This pilot project develops a technical assistance process to help municipalities make informed decisions about their transportation infrastructure, and explores how the framework can be developed into a marketable service for Maine’s environmental technologies sector. The objective is to bring the state-of-the art decision making framework called Transportation Risk Assessment for Planning and Project Delivery tool that was developed by the Maine Department of Transportation for state roads, bridges and culverts, to the municipal level. The TRAPPD framework provides a new approach to making risk and priority decisions about transportation infrastructure by incorporating ecological, hydrologic, and structural characteristics of the roads, bridges and culverts. The tool assesses the risks that could adversely affect projects’ budgets, timing and safety, making it a useful tool to help field engineers decide which assets to upgrade, and why. Working with one municipality, New England EFC and its partners will assist municipal staff with the application of the tool, examine its efficacy to augment existing planning actions, gauge its acceptance and value to the municipality, and examine the market value of the service for delivery by Maine’s environmental technologies sector.