Extreme weather events cause damage and destruction of transportation infrastructure, leading to significant rebuilding costs, user delay, and inconvenience. Actionable and quantitative procedures can incorporate geotechnical resilience into the existing design and management framework of transportation asset life-cycles. TRB hosted a webinar on Thursday, November 14, 2024 from 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM Eastern that covered current geotechnical asset resilience practices and advancements in the broader framework of transportation asset management (TAM), project planning, and life-cycle analysis. Presenters shared areas for development and practice improvement by incorporating performance of geotechnical features in pavement and structural contexts. Presenters also explored procedures to incorporate resilience in geotechnical asset design and the assessment of geotechnical asset resilience during service life using monitoring and modeling of cascading events.

This webinar was sponsored by TRB’s Standing Technical Committees on Geotechnical Instrumentation and Modeling, Foundations of Bridges and Other Structures, and Mechanics and Drainage of Saturated and Unsaturated Geomaterials.

The slides are available. Please contact trbwebinar@nas.edu for a link to the recording. There may be a $90 fee.

Webinar agenda and presenters

1. Progress toward more resilient roadways: A review of Federal Highway Administration activities – Amir Golalipour, FHWA Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center

2. Resilient-based design and management of geotechnical assets: Improving reliability in uncertain conditions – Ahmad Alhasan, Applied Research Associates

3. Modeling cascading failures of levees and power grid due to flooding in changing climate – Farshid Vahedifard, Tufts University

4. Question and answer session moderated by Derrick Dasenbrock, FHWA

The first 60 minutes of the webinar were for presentations and the final 30 minutes were reserved for audience questions.

Learning Objectives

At the end of this webinar, participants can:

1. Identify FHWA activities related to resilience of pavement and embankment assets

2. Speak to the concept of resilience-based design for geotechnical assets and practices

3. Understand the utility and implications of modeling through the examples of cascading failures of levees and power grid due to flooding in changing climate

Professional Development Hours

This webinar was delivered as a scheduled – e-learning live event and is categorized within RCEP as Technical, Health and Safety.

Professional Development Hours (PDHs) earned on completion of this program were reported to the Registered Continuing Education Program (RCEP). Certificates of Completion are issued to all participants via the RCEP.net online system. Complaints about registered providers may be addressed to RCEP, 1015 15th Street, NW, 8th Fl., Washington, DC, 20005.