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International Practices in Transportation Resilience

FHWA has conducted research on how transportation agencies abroad are adapting their roadway infrastructure to severe weather events and changes in natural hazards. Learning from international practices helps FHWA avoid duplicative research, reduce overall costs, and accelerate improvements to our transportation system.

• Since 2014, FHWA and Rijkswaterstaat, the government agency responsible for transportation and water infrastructure in the Netherlands, have been collaborating on the topic of infrastructure resilience.
  • During the first two years, FHWA and Rijkswaterstaat shared information on strategies, methods, and best practices from both countries to help to increase infrastructure resilience.
  • From 2016 through 2018, the agencies conducted an applied comparison of a suite of resilience tools developed and/or used by the respective agencies: the FHWA Vulnerability Assessment and Adaptation Framework, and Roads Today, Adapted for Tomorrow (ROADAPT). These tools were applied to two infrastructure projects — the InnovA58 project in the Netherlands and the SR167 project in Tacoma, Washington. The collaboration was used to enhance tools used on both sides and implement resilience strategies for InnovA58 and SR167 as well as future highway projects.
  • From 2019 to 2021, FHWA and Rijkswaterstaat - along with Washington State Department of Transportation and North Carolina Department of Transportation - participated in a collaboration to explore nature-based solutions that reduce flood hazards to highways and provide environmental benefits. The partners discussed resources and strategies for nature-based resilience and specific transportation projects that incorporated nature-based strategies, and shared lessons learned that could be relevant for transportation projects under consideration by the other agencies.
• FHWA undertook a Global Benchmarking Program study in 2015 to learn how transportation agencies in other countries are adapting their roadway infrastructure to severe weather events and changing conditions. This review of practices in Denmark, the Netherlands, and Norway identified innovative and best practices to help advance the development and implementation of resilience strategies in the United States.
• FHWA conducted an international review in 2015 to study how international transportation agencies are addressing issues related to adapting highway infrastructure to the impacts of changes in natural hazards. The review involved transportation agencies from Australia, Canada, Denmark, Korea, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Norway, and the United Kingdom.