Design Standards for U.S. Transportation Infrastructure: The Implications of Climate Change

Abstract

This paper examines the changes to engineering design practice that might occur given climate-induced changes in environmental factors. A project design is separated into the individual components that might be affected by changing environmental conditions: subsurface conditions, materials specifications, cross sections and standard dimensions, drainage and erosion, structures and location engineering. A typical engineering design process including the use of design standards is described. The origin and use of design standards and guidance is presented with an assessment of how robust and flexible they are to incorporating climate-induced changes.\n