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XXVIIth World Road Congress
Proceedings of the Congress

Foresight Session 13 - Stress tests tool to assess the resilience of road asset to climate change hazard

Friday, October 6 09:30 - 13:00
Chair: Teodora POPESCU, Directorate General of Infrastructure, Transport and Mobility, France, Vice-chair of the UNECE Group of Experts on Assessment of Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation for Inland Transport
Room: South Hall 3C, 3rd floor

The provision of adequate service level is the key objective of work of road asset managers. That service level should be provided despite various hazards, including such coming from climate change. Is however the road asset resilient to these hazards? What are the tools available to road asset managers to understand the degree of road resilience?

This foresight session presented stress tests as tools for assessing the level of resilience of a selected road asset or road network to climate change hazard.

In this context, the session discussed road transport asset/network, observed impacts of climate change on road assets/networks, road asset/network service level and economically optimal level of risk. It also discussed costs and benefits associated with the managed road asset/network with and without intervention programme.

As far as stress tests are concerned, this foresight session clarified:

  • How to define a stress test,
  • What approach to use,
  • How to define the asset/network and hazard representation for the stress test,
  • How to deal with scenarios uncertainties, and
  • How to perceive estimated risks and the appropriateness of the test.

The foresight session also simulated a stress test using qualitative approach. This provided a better understanding on what it takes for asset managers to carry out stress tests of their assets and/or networks. 

  1. Welcome and session introduction
  2. Road assets, climate change hazards, stress tests
  3. Questions and answers
  4. Stress test case study
  5. Questions and Answers
  6. Tools under development in UNECE Group of experts
  7. Conclusion
  8. Final Conclusions
  9. Organization

Welcome and session introduction

• Teodora POPESCU, Directorate General of Infrastructure, Transport and Mobility, France, Vice-chair of the UNECE Group of Experts on Assessment of Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation for Inland Transport

Road assets, climate change hazards, stress tests

• Moderator: Lukasz WYROWSKI, Sustainable Transport Division, UNECE

  • How to look at road asset to best understand the degree of its resilience
    Bryan PROF. DR. ADEY (Switzerland) - Institute of Construction and Infrastructure Management, ETH Zurich
  • Observed impacts from climate change on transport infrastructure with focus on road assets
    Teodora POPESCU (France) - Directorate General of Infrastructure, Transport and Mobility
  • Natural hazard risks for services by road assets – challenges for stress tests
    Luuk PROF. DR. DORREN (Switzerland) - Bern University of Applied Sciences BFH
  • Balancing road service levels with costs and benefits of adaptation: the challenge to establish an economically optimal resilience level
    Thomas BLES (Netherlands) - Expert Consultant Resilient Infrastructure, Deltares
  • Stress tests as tools to assess resilience of transport asset to climate change
    Bryan PROF. DR. ADEY (Switzerland) - Institute of Construction and Infrastructure Management, ETH Zurich
  • Example of stress tests: Stress test of road infrastructure in Chur region of Switzerland using quantitative approach
    Hossein NASRAZADANI (Switzerland) - Institute of Construction and Infrastructure Management, ETH Zurich

Questions and answers

Break

Stress test case study

Moderator:
• Teodora POPESCU, Directorate General of Infrastructure, Transport and Mobility, France, Vice-chair of the UNECE Group of Experts on Assessment of Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation for Inland Transport

Introduction to the case study
• Bryan ADEY, Institute of Construction and Infrastructure Management, ETH Zurich

Simulation of the stress-test using qualitative approach

Facilitator
• Bryan ADEY, Institute of Construction and Infrastructure Management, ETH Zurich Panellists for the stress test
• Amanda SIEMS-ANDERSON, Research Applications Laboratory, National Center for Atmospheric Research, United States of America
• Marlene TOMASZKIEWICZ, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia
• Mladen MARKOVIĆ, Chief Engineer for the National Integration Program for Road Infrastructure, Public Enterprise Roads of Serbia
• Paulo SOARES DE MELO, Infrastructures de Portugal

  • Calculation of level of risk/resilience and degree of uncertainty based on expert opinion
    Hossein NASRAZADANI (Switzerland) - Institute of Construction and Infrastructure Management, ETH Zurich

Questions and Answers

Tools under development in UNECE Group of experts

  • Tools for assisting transport asset managers to deal with climate change impact and to carry out effective adaptation programme
    Lukasz WYROWSKI - Sustainable Transport Division, UNECE

Conclusion

• Teodora POPESCU, Directorate General of Infrastructure, Transport and Mobility, France, Vice-chair of the UNECE Group of Experts on Assessment of Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation for Inland Transport

Final Conclusions

Organization

Lukasz WYROWSKI, Sustainable Transport Division, UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)