Potentially, after a hurricane hits the Suffolk District the road systems may be in complete disorder leaving some communities stranded. The aim of the current effort is to support a systematic, orderly, and timely approach to recovering the road systems after a hurricane by aiding the Virginia Department of Transportation in assessing the risks, costs and benefits associated with retrofitting equipment, managing spares and reserves, and priority setting for recovery efforts. As a solution, the team recommends the consideration of retrofitting alternatives, spares and reserves, and roadway priority setting.
There are three main parts to the effort. One of the ways to improve the resilience of Suffolk Districts highway infrastructure in a hurricane is by retrofitting (strengthening) its damageable equipment allowing these to be more resistant to extreme weather conditions. Thus, one of the tasks in this project involves developing a tool that aids VDOT in evaluating retrofitting options for the damageable equipment based on their initial costs and the costs and amount of equipment damaged in a hurricane under those options.
The Virginia Department of Transportations (VDOT) sign production facilities currently may not have the capacity to handle the demand produced by hurricane damage. The development of a system of spares for certain signs, lights and signals may enable VDOT to restore transportation systems more quickly. An important objective of this project is to assess the risks, costs, and benefits of different levels of spares for equipment that is vulnerable to hurricanes. The developed process will allow VDOT to evaluate a spares management system based upon cost, time of implementation, and consequences for the various magnitudes of hurricanes.
Lastly, the project addresses the evaluation of alternative schedules for the recovery of interstate and primary roads after a hurricane. Intersections are considered when developing alternatives. The recovery plan will be based on both critical facilities and the path of recovery with the most connectivity, finding the intersections that connect the most critical facilities the most efficiently. An intersection is where two or more roads intersect and a road segment is the area between two intersections. A critical facility is a facility, such as a hospital or school, that is critical to the community's well being and ability to return to normal after a hurricane.
The final results of this project are spreadsheets that will help VDOT choose among policies in order to minimize cost, implementation time, and risk. These spreadsheets will be maintained at the University of Virginia and accessible on the Internet so that VDOT has continuous access to them into the future.
Last Updated on September 27, 1999
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