Foundations for a Hessian priority program for climate adaptations on state roads

In order to achieve the Hessian climate goals, the Integrated Climate Protection Plan Hessen 2025 was adopted in March 2017. Measure V 22 contained therein explicitly aims to increase the resilience of the Hessian road traffic infrastructure. The processing of this measure takes place as a combination of a scientifically shaped basic report and an action guide for Hessen Mobil for the development of the priority program “Climate adaptation on state roads”.

In the basic report carried out last year, the dangers for the transport infrastructure managed by Hessen Mobil arising from changes in the climate variables of temperature, precipitation and wind were systematically processed. The hazard analysis has shown that uniform measures to minimize hazards on state roads are not possible either at state level or at climatic region level. Instead, each building must be checked for its individual hazard and suitable measures to minimize it must be determined.

In the follow-up report, the Department of Spatial and Infrastructure Planning develops a process for the development of individual adaptation strategies to climate change, which can be applied to the different structures in the Hessian road traffic infrastructure system. Building on the main risk factors identified in the basic report, the first steps for the follow-up report were discussed in a steering committee meeting on March 22, 2022. In order to be able to formulate concrete recommendations for action, the expertise of experts from the areas of planning, construction and operation is required, which is queried with the help of interviews and then integrated into the report.

A monthly steering committee to discuss the status of work and the involvement of various specialist departments form the framework for preparing the report, which will be handed over to Hessen Mobil by March 2023.