Distributed Rainfall-Runoff Models (DRRMs) are the primary tool that will be needed to assess future precipitation impacts to the transportation system. NCHRP Synthesis 602: Resilient Design with Distributed Rainfall-Runoff Modeling identified that the use of DRRMs is still limited. The synthesis also suggested for future research the development of a document focused on developing case studies that will demonstrate how to best create and apply DRRMs in the context of transportation infrastructure. The proposed research will focus on the capabilities of these models to effectively model future rainfall conditions for resilient, adaptive planning and design. Without DRRM guidelines, professionals will be limited in their use of current precipitation frequency estimations from NOAA’s ATLAS 15 model. 

The objective of this research is to begin transforming the state of practice in transportation hydraulic and hydrologic modeling and provide essential guidelines needed to fully leverage ATLAS 15, which will provide future rainfall data for the United States by 2026. DRRMs allow engineers and planners to assess rainfall and associated flooding vulnerabilities on transportation infrastructure. Currently there are no guidelines for DRRMs in a transportation context, and state DOTs’ ability to successfully leverage ATLAS 15 will be supported by this research. A practice manual for the application of DRRMs for resilient transportation planning and design will be developed to achieve the project objective.