Risk analysis of transport infrastructures with regard to climate impacts

The risk analysis of transport infrastructures with regard to climate impacts is part of a two-part project, the aim of which is to develop packages of measures for a more resilient design of the transport infrastructure managed by Hessen Mobil. The transport sector is one of the relevant fields of action in which measures are being developed as part of the integrated climate protection plan Hessen 2025 in order to deal with the currently noticeable climate changes and to achieve climate neutrality in Hessen by 2045.

The Department of Spatial and Infrastructure Planning was commissioned by Hessen Mobil to create a basis for measure V 22 “Hesse-wide risk analysis for transport infrastructure in relation to climate impacts” with an expert opinion. In the basic study, climate-critical constellations of the road infrastructure were recorded and evaluated. For this purpose, the changes in the climate variables temperature, precipitation and wind were presented in general and for the different climate regions of Hesse. The influence of the most important spatial conditions (topography, soil types and types as well as land use) was also taken into account.

The hazards resulting from climate change were worked out for the events of flood, mass movement, storm, drought and low water, heat and cold with regard to the origin, the role of climatic influences and the relevance of spatial conditions. Building on this, the structures relevant to Hessen Mobil's state road network were compiled and the effects of climatic influences on them analyzed.

The effects of climate change pose major risks for the functionality of critical infrastructure in the transport sector. 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 structure must be checked for its individual risk and suitable measures must be determined to minimize it.

In a follow-up report – based on the identification of typical risk situations depending on climatic regions and local structures – measures are formulated that are to be used to avoid damage events, and actors who are of particular relevance in the process are recorded.