American Association of
State Highway and Transportation Officials
Special Committee on
Research and Innovation
FY2023 NCHRP PROBLEM
STATEMENT TEMPLATE
Problem Number:
2023-C-06
Problem Title
Impact of
Flooding and Inundation on the Resiliency of Pavements
Background Information and Need For Research
The
resiliency of pavements after inundation by flooding will gain greater
significance in the foreseeable future. For many years, transportation agencies
have dealt with the aftermath of flooding from major storm events, but the
threat of sea level rise from global climate change now looms more ominously.
During the 20th century, the sea level rose 15-20 centimeters (roughly 1.5 to
2.0 mm/year), with the rate accelerating towards the end of the century.
Climatological
projections predict an even faster sea level rise in the 21st century. For
example, the Southeast Florida Regional Climate Change Compact is estimating
the SE Florida region will experience an increase between 9 and 24 inches in
the next 50 years. To help mitigate some of the impacts, the region has already
implemented $400 million worth of mitigation/adaption projects of to construct
2 pump stations to in part to keep the roads from flooding.
FHWA
Technical Brief on Climate Change and Pavement Sustainability (FHWA-HIF-15-015)
provides an introduction on how pavements may be fortified against climate
change impacts due to extreme conditions, such as longer heat waves and severe
flooding, and explains how these changes will accelerate the deterioration of
highway pavements. However, it recognizes that the state of the practice is
largely limited to general observations and is lacking with regards to specific
adaptation strategies.
This
proposed research will answer the following questions:
1. What is the impact of flooding on the short-
and long-term resiliency of pavements?
2. What is the sensitivity of individual
pavement design features to mitigate or reduce the negative effects of flooding
on resiliency?
3. What asset management strategies can be used
for pavements exposed to prolonged flood events?
This
relates to AASHTO Committee on Materials and Pavement’s (COMP’s) Strategic Plan
- Goal 1.1 – Update Materials Standards and Goal 3 – Develop and Champion
Research for COMP.
Literature Search Summary
Existing
research documentation related to this topic discuss primarily real-time
assessments of flooded pavements for purposes opening back to traffic, and
reducing water intrusion through pavement design, materials selection and
construction methods. No comprehensive resiliency evaluation of inundated
pavements of all types, accompanied by full scale testing, has occurred.
Research Objective
The objective
of this research is to determine the impact that submergence and inundation
related to flooding and sea-level rise have on the long-term performance of a
pavement system and provide guidance on improving pavement resiliency. It is anticipated the work will be structured
as shown in the following phases and tasks:
Phase 1
Task 1.
Conduct a literature review of the performance of pavements with respect to
inundation and submergence. Summarize the information collected noting
pertinent results as appropriate. Identify any gaps in the information.
Document the results in a technical memorandum.
Task 2.
Develop a detailed research plan to address the knowledge gaps identified in
Task 1. It is anticipated this plan would include building laboratory and
full-scale, asphalt and concrete pavement test sections that can be inundated
so that the differences in the short term responses (e.g. stress, strain and
deflection, etc.) and accelerated load testing performances (faulting,
cracking, deflection, material properties etc.) between flooded and non-flooded
test sections could be evaluated. Another portion of the research could entail
doing pavement testing on pavements inundated by flooding from actual events
from storms in order to compare the field results with the laboratory and
full-scale test results.
Task 3.
Prepare an interim report that documents the research performed in Phase I.
Include an updated work plan for Phase 2.
Phase 2
Task 4.
Execute the work plan approved in Task 3. Based on the results of this work,
recommend a methodology for quantifying the impacts of flooding on pavements.
Identify pavement properties that may influence performance and identify test
methods and protocols (e.g., FWD, GPR or other tests/instrumentation) that can
be used to evaluate and/or quantify the near-term load capacity and the
long-term pavement damage / performance reduction caused by inundation.
Task 5.
Document results and propose guidelines, standard practices, training sessions
and other activities that can be given to practicing engineers for limiting
flood damage to new and existing concrete pavements.
Task 6.
Perform technology transfer / training concerning the project findings,
guidelines and tools in a one-day pilot workshop to FHWA and DOT participants.
Revise project training materials and deliverables, as necessary, based on
comments received following this workshop.
Task 7.
Submit final versions of all project training materials and deliverables, along
with a final report that documents the entire research effort.
Urgency and Potential Benefits
Weather
and flooding events already negatively influence pavement systems. Many States;
including Louisiana, Florida, North Carolina, Colorado, Vermont, Tennessee,
Iowa, Texas, Missouri and Nebraska; have experienced severe precipitation
events and flooding during the past several years. Fortification of pavement systems is
critically needed in areas of potential flooding.
Implementation Considerations And Supporters
The
results of this work will be disseminated to transportation departments through
training, such as webinars, and will be adopted by them through guidelines for
modifications of pavement design methods, construction specifications, material
specifications, etc.
AASHTO
Committee on Materials and Pavements (COMP) – Ranked #1
TRB
committees and Chairs
TRB
Committee AKP20 – Concrete Pavement Design and Rehabilitation, Georgene Geary,
770-337-5817, ggeary@ggfga.com
TRB
Committee AKP30 – Asphalt Pavement Design and Rehabilitation, Dave Timm, 334-844-6282,
timmdav@auburn.edu
TRB
Committee AKC50 – Concrete Pavement Construction and Rehabilitation, Sabrina
Garber, 512-451-6233 Ext 242,
sgarber@thetranstecgroup.com
TRB
Committee AKC60 – Asphalt Pavement Construction and Rehabilitation, Adam Hand,
775-784-1439, adamhand@unr.edu
Recommended Research Funding And Research
Period
Recommended
Funding: Estimated cost of research and
development is $650,000.
Research
Period: 24 months.
Problem Statement Author(s): For each author,
provide their name, affiliation, email address and phone.
James W.
Mack, CEMEX, jamesw.mack@cemex.com
Potential Panel Members: For each panel
member, provide their name, affiliation, email address and phone.
Members
of AASHTO COMP Technical Subcommittee 5d - Pavement Design, John Donahue
(Chair), 573-526-4334, john.donahue@modot.mo.gov
Person Submitting The Problem Statement: Name, affiliation,
email address and phone.
Mark E.
Felag, AASHTO COMP Secretary on behalf of AASHTO COMP, 401-245-1327,
mfelag@hotmail.com
Note: This was ranked #1 for COMP.