The Infrastructure Technology Resources Consortium Seminar Series occurs every 2nd Friday through August:
- Apr 10, 2020
- May 8, 2020
- Jun 12, 2020
- Jul 10, 2020
- Aug 14, 2020
August Topic: Nature-based Resilience for Coastal Highways
August Speaker: Tina Hodges, Environmental Protection Specialist, Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)
Abstract: This webinar highlights FHWA's Nature-based Solutions for Coastal Highway Resilience: An Implementation Guide. The Implementation Guide is designed to help transportation practitioners understand how and where nature-based solutions can be used to improve the resilience of coastal roads and bridges. Nature-based solutions use natural materials and processes to reduce erosion, wave damage and flood risks. Examples include conservation, restoration, or construction of beaches, dunes, marshes, mangroves, maritime forests, and reefs. The guide summarizes the potential flood-reduction benefits and co-benefits of these strategies. It follows the steps in the project delivery process, providing guidance on how to consider nature-based solutions in the planning process, how to conduct a site assessment to determine whether nature-based solutions are appropriate, key engineering and ecological design considerations, permitting approaches, construction considerations, and monitoring and maintenance strategies. The guide is part of FHWA's research effort on Nature-based Resilience for Coastal Highways.
Bio: Tina Hodges is an Environmental Protection Specialist at the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). She conducts research, technical assistance and outreach to improve the sustainability of transportation networks and enhance the resilience of transportation to climate change impacts. She has fifteen years of experience on these issues at FHWA and the Federal Transit Administration. She is the lead for FHWA’s work on nature-based resilience for coastal highways. She holds a Masters in Public Policy from the University of Maryland. Prior to her graduate studies, she carried out policy advocacy on human rights issues for a non-profit organization.
