The Virginia Center for Transportation Innovation—a joint venture of the state transportation department and the University of Virginia—and the college’s School of Engineering and Applied Science have won a $250,000 federal grant to study potential impacts of severe weather on U.S. transportation infrastructure in coastal areas. Researchers will pilot a conceptual risk-assessment model developed by the Federal Highway Administration to identify transportation assets most at risk. The study, which will focus on Hampton Roads, Va., will offer a template for national transportation planning because of the area’s coastal setting, high-density population, military bases and industrial sites, researchers say. A U.S. Geological Survey analysis found the area to be second only to New Orleans in terms of risk from an increased frequency and intensity of coastal storms due to climate change.
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