Resilient Infrastructure Solutions
Resilient Infrastructure Solutions (RIS)
The future of transportation is complex, evolving rapidly and confronted with increased risk from extreme weather and other disruptive events.
HNTB’s RIS team partners with clients to navigate the uncertainty of future shocks and stressors.
Through our “Prepare, Adapt and Respond” framework, we cultivate resilience in capital programs, projects and operations through integrated services. Our teams’ innovative and actionable resilience solutions support our clients’ needs from planning to implementation to functional recovery.
Prepare
Planning services to prepare for and anticipate impacts and disruptions from shocks and stressors: identifying at-risk assets, vulnerabilities, risks and consequences, and developing adaptation strategies and priority actions.
Key Services:
Resilience Improvement Plans (PROTECT Program)
Hazard Screening and Vulnerability Analyses
Resilience Planning Geographic Information System Tools
Evacuation Route Evaluation and Plans
Extreme Weather and Resilience:
Life Cycle Costs and Risk Management Analyses
Asset Management Plans
Grant Support
Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Capital Programs Climate Action Integration
New York and Connecticut
As the nation’s largest transit system, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is especially vulnerable to climate impacts. To address these risks, HNTB worked with the MTA to develop a comprehensive resilience and sustainability program.
HNTB’s resilience team conducted a systemwide vulnerability assessment of more than 13,000 interconnected assets across New York and Connecticut. This assessment evaluated hazards, including rising sea levels, coastal and inland flooding, heat, wildfire, winter weather, and landslides. HNTB developed an analytical model and GIS-based tool that provides the MTA Capital Construction and Development (MTA C&D) with datadriven resources for decision-making
and internal capacity building. This tool allows MTA to update the model and track resilience progress over time.
Additionally, HNTB established a unified asset management coding system for MTA assets across MTA agencies. Data on adaptation efforts collected by MTA was integrated into the geoprocessing model, enabling MTA C&D to monitor and track ongoing resilience efforts.
This vulnerability assessment was prepared to meet both the immediate and long-term resilience planning needs of MTA. To facilitate continued use of the GIS-based tool and geoprocessing model, our team delivered a detailed User Guide to support MTA’s ongoing work.
KEY SERVICES
Multi-hazard Vulnerability Assessment
GIS-based Resiliency Tool
Program Development
Transit Asset Management
Geoprocessing Model
Infrastructure and Mobility Equity
Massachusetts Department of Transportation, Highway Division Resilience Improvement Plan
Massachusetts
In accordance with Federal requirements as part of the Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and CostSaving Transportation (PROTECT) program in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), HNTB worked with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) Environmental Section leadership to prepare a Resilience Improvement Plan (RIP). HNTB supported the development of MassDOT’s approach to resiliency as a combination of five resilience goals (PLAN, IMPROVE, MAINTAIN, RESPOND, INFORM), which build on state and federal regulations, past implementation efforts and actions, vulnerability assessments and interagency coordination. In addition to identifying priority resilience projects, MassDOT’s RIP identified action items that serve
as a workplan for MassDOT to move forward and emphasizes intentional and incremental changes that can be quickly implemented to expedite progress.
With the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) approval of this document and integration into the statewide long range transportation plan, MassDOT is set up for success in funding resilience investments with a 90 percent federal cost share for PROTECT program funded projects. This plan positions MassDOT to secure funding for both immediate and long-term resilience investments that support their systemic approach to surface transportation resilience. The RIP also serves as a clear roadmap for building resilience across the agency and communicating with other state and federal partners.
KEY SERVICES
Resilience Improvement Plan
PROTECT Program Support
Program Development
Infrastructure and Mobility Equity
Priority Actions and Projects
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, Metrorail Urban Heat Island Assessment
Washington, DC
HNTB developed a digital tool that identifies areas of heat severity, environmental justice and limited tree canopy within Metro rail station walksheds.
KEY SERVICES
Tree Canopy
Extreme Heat
Urban Heat Island
GIS-based
Resilience Tool
Infrastructure and Mobility Equity
Ocean Highway/Port Authority of Nassau County/Florida Department of Transportation, Port of Fernandina Seaport Enhancement
Adaptation and Resilience Improvement Plan Nassau County, FL
HNTB prepared a vulnerability and resilience action plan in coordination with Ocean Highway, Port Authority of Nassau County and FDOT to assess the flood risk on port operations and freight infrastructure.
KEY SERVICES
Resilience
Improvement Plan
Rising Sea Levels
Vulnerability Assessment
Program Development
Freight Resilience
Florida Department of Transportation, Combined Hazards Analysis
Florida
HNTB assessed combined risks of rising sea levels, high tide flooding, extreme precipitation and storm surge on the Tampa Bay transportation system, informing travel demand modeling.
KEY SERVICES
Rising Sea Levels
Storm Surge
Joint-probability
Risk Analyses
Travel Demand
Modeling
GIS Modeling and Analytics
High Tide Flood Analysis
Extreme Rainfall Assessment
Dallas Area Rapid Transit, Winter Weatherization Resilience Assessment
Dallas, TX
HNTB explored weatherization options to protect light rail functionality during severe winter weather, notably ice storms.
KEY SERVICES
Extreme
Weather Events
Winter Weather
Adaptation Planning
Program Development
Indiana Department of Transportation, Resilience Improvement Plan
Indiana
HNTB performed a statewide vulnerability assessment aligning with FHWA PROTECT Program requirements, using a Land System Approach to evaluate geographic risk based on hazard frequency and severity.
KEY SERVICES
Multi-hazard Vulnerability Assessment
Resilience Improvement Plan PROTECT
San Diego Association of Governments, Military Installation Resilience
California
HNTB developed strategies to mitigate coastal flood impacts on naval operations from rising sea levels that prioritized nature-based solutions for the roadway network.
New Jersey Turnpike Authority, Staff Augmentation
New Jersey
HNTB supports the New Jersey Turnpike Authority in establishing resilience objectives and priorities by reviewing consultant deliverables that support priority projects, including the Flood Exposure Visualization Tool, vulnerability assessments and flood risk metrics.
KEY SERVICES
Rising Sea Levels
Storm Surge Vulnerability Assessment
Adaptation Planning
Flood Risk Management
KEY SERVICES
Rising Sea Levels
Adaptation Planning
Vulnerability Assessment
Nature-based Solutions
Flood Risk Management
California High Speed Rail Authority, Shafter to Bakersfield Segment
California
HNTB applied 10 different climate models to assess extreme weather risk and resilience along a critical 22-mile project segment, informing state and federal permitting and supporting alternative analysis and decision-making.
KEY SERVICES
Multi-hazard Vulnerability Assessment
Program Development
Transit Asset Management
Adaptation Planning
Environmental Compliance
Flood Risk Management
Adapt
Resilient design and engineering services to reduce risk from extreme weather events, as well as adapt to changes over time: incorporating climate data into design, using adaptive design, enhancing resilience through maintenance and operations, and applying nature-based solutions.
Key Services:
Flood Modeling and Hydrologic and Hydraulic (H&H) Simulations
Benefit Cost Analyses
Environmental Compliance
Resilience Design Development
Third Party Verifications (ENVISION certification)
Adaptive Management Practices
Nature-Based Solutions
Grant Support
Louisiana Department of Transportation, Louisiana Highway 1 Bridge Phase 2
Louisiana
The Louisiana Highway 1 bridge will be one of the longest in Louisiana and the Americas, stretching approximately 17 miles. This elevated bridge will provide crucial connections and improve resilience for a major freight corridor that supports 95-percent of energy production in the Gulf of Mexico.
The project delivers a resilient bridge with a design life beyond the typical 75 years. HNTB worked closely with the Louisiana Department of Transportation (DOTD), local stakeholders and contractors to develop a design and construction strategy that can withstand the region’s most severe weather, support heavy freight and minimize disturbance to wetlands.
HNTB designed a bridge capable of withstanding hurricane-force winds
and storm surges, using top-down construction to limit impacts on the approximately eight-mile-long strip of wetlands it crosses.
HNTB’s approach accelerated the project schedule, reduced costs, minimized environmental impact and enhanced resilience to extreme weather events. HNTB helped DOTD secure $135 million in grant funding for the project, the largest award of the 2020 Infrastructure for Rebuilding America grant cycle.
KEY SERVICES
Storm Surge
Resilient Design
Freight Resilience
Grant Support
Environmental Compliance
Flood Risk Management
United States Army Corps of EngineersKansas City District, Kansas City Levee System
Kansas City, MO and Kansas City, KS
The Argentine, Armourdale and Central Industrial District areas in Kansas City, Kansas and Missouri are a vital transportation hub for moving goods across the nation. The area frequently faces severe flooding with recent events nearly overtopping the existing levee. After these incidents, levee owners and other stakeholders, in collaboration with the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), decided to rebuild the levees to meet current USACE design and safety standards.
HNTB partnered with the USACE to provide planning and design services for flood risk management solutions. The design minimized impact on rail companies, addressing complex operational, financial and scheduling concerns. Collaborative planning and government relations helped shorten the project timeline, while early identification of stakeholder concerns led to effective mitigation strategies.
The project improved 17 miles of levees, replaced two pumping stations, installed approximately 300 relief wells and relocated or modified more than 200 utilities along five mainline tracks. Twelve closure structures were built across tracks owned by the BNSF Railway, Union Pacific and the Kansas City Terminal.
This flood mitigation project boosted the reliability and resilience of the levee system by 200-percent, protecting $9.5 billion in infrastructure and safeguarding approximately 30,000 people who live and work in the area.
KEY SERVICES
Resilient Design
Flood Risk Management
Flood Barriers
Water Resources
Freight Resilience
New York City Department of Design and Construction, East Side Coastal Resiliency Program and Construction Management
New York, NY
HNTB serves as program and construction manager for New York City’s Coastal Resiliency projects on behalf of the New York City Department of Design and Construction (NYCDDC) and NYC Economic Development Corporation.
HNTB’s first task, the East Side Coastal Resiliency (ESCR), involved raising a section of East River Park to enhance the resilience of 2.4 miles of urban coastline and protect lower Manhattan from rising sea levels and storm surges.
ESCR applied a mix of engineered and nature-based solutions to reduce flood risk and improve amenities and accessibility at East River Park
and nearby parks and playgrounds.
HNTB’s construction phasing plan kept half the project area open during construction, maintaining transportation functionality and supporting community features like waterfront access. This approach also allowed for the installation of flood gates along the waterfront, and three new pedestrian bridges over FDR Drive. Completed within an accelerated schedule, this project involved many challenges during construction, including construction phasing, permit acquisition and applications, the development of an extensive engagement plan, environmental requirements and management of contract compliance.
KEY SERVICES
Program Management
Construction Management
Community Engagement
Rising Sea Levels
Storm Surge
Flood Risk Management
Nature-based Solutions
ENVISION Certification
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, Cabot North Yard 100-Percent Construction Documents
Boston, MA
HNTB developed a resilience strategy that can adapt over time- relocating red line vehicles before extreme storms, elevating critical infrastructure to meet regular operational needs, and wet-floodproofing low lying infrastructure.
KEY SERVICES
Rising Sea Levels
Storm Surge Stormwater Environmental Compliance
Flood Risk Management
Resilient Design
Central Industrial District, Green Infrastructure
Kansas City, MO
HNTB designed and constructed a stormwater management system that combines naturebased solutions and green infrastructure to reduce flooding and improve water quality in the Missouri River.
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, Basis of Design Support - Multiple Programs
Boston, MA
HNTB integrated resilience through 30-percent design documents for the Mattapan Line Transformation Program, Orange Line Southwest Corridor Modernization and the Ashmont Branch Track Replacement.
KEY SERVICES
Rising Sea Levels
Storm
KEY SERVICES Nature-based Solutions Flood
Flood Risk Management
Resilient Design
United States Army Corps of EngineersLos Angeles District - Tres Rios Ecosystem Restoration and Flood Control Phoenix, AZ
HNTB provided planning and design for 650 acres of natural habitat along a seven-mile stretch of the Salt and Gila rivers near Phoenix. A 3D contoured design model was developed to support design and mitigate 100year floodplain impacts.
KEY SERVICES
Ecological Restoration
Nature-based Solutions
Flood Risk Management
Resilient Design
Environmental Compliance
Respond
Assistance with responding to and rapidly recovering from disruptions to our client’s transportation systems: damage assessment, stabilization and emergency repairs to quickly restore mobility; disaster reimbursement and long-term recovery coordination to rebuild with greater resiliency.
Key Services:
Rapid Recovery and Replacement of Infrastructure
Staff Augmentation
Disaster Risk Reduction Plans
Disaster Scenario Tabletop Exercises/Training
Damage Assessments and After Action Reports
Emergency Repair Reimbursement Paperwork
Grant Support
MTA - Metro-North Railroad, Hudson Line
HU21.16 Hurricane Ida Emergency Response and Replacement
Dobbs Ferry, NY
On September 1, 2021, the extreme rainfall from Hurricane Ida caused flash flooding of Wickers Creek leading to the washout of a culvert below the Metro-North Railroad Hudson Line, which knocked all four tracks out of service.
The next day, HNTB was on the scene to assess damage and develop a comprehensive plan to restore service as fast as possible. This included a constructability analysis, conceptual replacement plans, cost estimates and a construction schedule. Supply chain disruptions constrained replacement
alternatives, and HNTB developed an innovative “filler beam” solution for a replacement single span structure that used common pieces of steel, did not require connections (similar to the New York State Department of Transportation integral abutments), increased the hydraulics of the crossing and worked for E-80 vehicles and the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-ofWay Association provisions. The permanent replacement structure for Track 3 was in place within six weeks of procuring an emergency contractor.
Flood Risk Management
Extreme Weather Events
Emergency Response
Resilient Design
Environmental Compliance
Rapid Recovery
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, LaGuardia Airport Flood Control and Resiliency Improvements Program — Superstorm Sandy
New York, NY
LaGuardia Airport (LGA) is a key aviation facility serving the New York region. After Superstorm Sandy in October 2012, the airport faced significant delays and economic impacts. HNTB supported the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in their response efforts, including securing a Federal Emergency Management Agencyfunded grant for the planning, analysis, design and construction of four different projects to mitigate flooding and enhance resiliency through rapid recovery.
HNTB was selected as the engineer/ architect of record in March 2014 and all four projects were completed by 2020. Flood protection measures were implemented at the west field lighting vault, a critical asset providing lighting for half of the airport’s runways, and at the west end substations, which supply electrical power to the airport. Rehabilitation of supervisory control and data acquisition systems at various substations has improved electrical distribution and provided emergency power redundancy. Five emergency generators were also established and installed on platforms above projected flood elevations to enhance operational capabilities and shorten the recovery period after an event.
KEY SERVICES
Storm Surge
Resilient Design
Adaptive Management Practices
Flood Risk Management
Flood Barriers
Grant Support Services
Benefit Cost Analysis
San Diego Association of Governments, Del Mar Bluffs Track Bed Emergency Repair and Stabilization
Del Mar, CA
The Los Angeles – San Diego – San Luis Obispo (LOSSAN) rail line is a critical part of the north-south corridor through San Diego. It supports the NCTD COASTER commuter rail, Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner intercity service, and BNSF Railway freight operations serving 7.6 million passengers annually, and facilitating $1 billion in goods and services through reliable rail operations. The coastal bluffs in Del Mar that support this rail alignment have a long history of landslides and slope failure. Rising sea levels and erosion pose current and future threats to this rail corridor, and HNTB is supporting the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) with their stabilization program.
On February 28, 2021, a seawall collapse triggered an 80-foot-wide landslide, requiring immediate action to maintain safe rail service for both passengers and freight. HNTB was contracted to provide emergency recovery services for this essential segment. The proposed stabilization infrastructure included seawalls, which required coordination with California Coastal Commission and sea level rise analyses. HNTB and SANDAG were able to obtain a conditional approval for this seawall for 30 years, which protects and maintains the existing railroad track for rail operations, while planning for and pursing relocation of the rail corridor off the Del Mar bluffs.
The emergency repairs were completed in January 2022 - less than a year after the landslide.
Landslides
Rising Sea Levels
Emergency Response
Resilient Design
Environmental Compliance
Freight Resilience
Rapid Recovery
Construction Management
Program Management
Adaptive Management Practices
Harris County Engineering Department, Hurricane Harvey Recovery Services
Harris County, TX
HNTB led the infrastructure revitalization workstream providing site coordination, damage verification, cost review, design and construction oversight, and stakeholder communication.
HNTB also helped to secure more than $400 million in grant funding.
KEY SERVICES
Emergency Response
Damage Assessments
Rapid Recovery Construction Management Grant Support
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Superstorm Sandy Recovery and Resiliency Program Management
New York and New Jersey
HNTB provided program management services for the $1.75 billion Superstorm Sandy Recovery and Resiliency Program, which included vulnerability assessments and design services on 36 individual resiliencerelated projects.
KEY SERVICES
Program Management
Flood Risk Management
Resilient Design Construction Management
Infrastructure and Mobility Equity
Grant Support
Vulnerability Assessment
MTA-New York City Transit, Resilience Design Services
New York, NY
Following Superstorm Sandy recovery, HNTB provided Indefinite Quantity consulting services for five years, including structural assessments of the Greenpoint, Cranberry and Rutgers Tubes; flood adaptation design at six MTA stations; a feasibility study at the Tottenville Terminal Station; and support for Federal Transit Administration Tier III grant applications.
KEY SERVICES
Program Management
Grant Support Damage Assessments
Resilient Design
Flood Risk Management
NJ TRANSIT, Superstorm Sandy Resiliency Program
New Jersey
HNTB supported NJ TRANSIT recovery efforts from Superstorm Sandy, including securing $1.2 billion for resilience projects. HNTB managed, monitored and reported monthly on the design work of more than 50 projects worth $750 million.
KEY SERVICES
Program Management
Grant Support
Resilient Design
Vulnerability Assessment
Rising Sea Levels
Storm Surge
Flood Risk Management
Transit Asset Management
Benefit Cost Analysis