NCHRP Research Report 1159: Measuring Impacts and Performance of State DOT Resilience Efforts: A Guide presents a guide for applying resilience performance measures (RPMs) to resilience investments made by state departments of transportation (DOTs). The guide provides methods to help state DOT practitioners integrate resilience into their performance management processes. A state-of-practice review, a compendium of key RPMs addressing multiple facets of resilience, and metrics for various asset classes of roadway transportation systems are described along with an approach to assessing the effectiveness of resilience measures. The guide is designed for practitioners responsible for performance measurement and transportation asset resilience at their agencies.

State DOTs have increased their focus on resilience initiatives to address impacts from short-term and long-term stressors such as extreme weather events, wildfires, and flooding. Economic shifts, changes in population, and other disruptions also cause transportation agencies to modify their practices to accommodate uncertainty. State DOTs need tools and approaches to justify the additional project expenses for increasing resilience. In turn, investing in resilience may reduce long-term transportation costs and disruptions. Without commonly accepted standards for tracking goals, effectiveness, and outcomes of resilience efforts, state DOTs needed a set of performance measures that accelerate the cost-effective incorporation of resilience into standard practices and programming.

Under NCHRP Project 23-26, “Measuring Impacts and Performance of State DOT Resilience Efforts,” Cambridge Systematics, Inc., was asked to fulfill three primary objectives: (1) identify or develop key RPMs for state DOTs for roadway transportation systems for various transportation asset classes, including bridges, intelligent transportation systems, pavement, and culverts; (2) develop an approach that uses performance measures to assess the effectiveness of resilience strategies; and (3) develop a guide to aid state DOT practitioners in applying RPMs. The research tasks included developing case studies and identifying and documenting successful practices for the use of RPMs.

Supplemental products to NCHRP Research Report 1159 can be found on the National Academies Press website (nap.nationalacademies.org) by searching for NCHRP Research Report 1159: Measuring Impacts and Performance of State DOT Resilience Efforts: A Guide. These include the following:

• An Excel workbook contains the compendium of RPMs and has several features to help agencies select appropriate RPMs.
• Appendix B includes case studies and example RPM templates.
• An implementation plan includes information for the dissemination of the research findings and strategies for implementation. 
• A PowerPoint presentation summarizes the project findings. 
  

NCHRP Web-Only Document 432: Impacts and Performance of State DOT Resilience Efforts is a companion to NCHRP Report 1159. The web-only document describes the overall research effort and can be found on the National Academies Press website (nap.nationalacademies.org) by searching for NCHRP Web-Only Document 432: Impacts and Performance of State DOT Resilience Efforts.