The Hampton Roads region contains one of the largest natural harbors in the world, making the region an attractive location for ports, military, tourism, and other businesses.  This coastal location also makes many of these regional assets susceptible to projected relative sea level rise (the combined effects of land subsidence and absolute sea level rise) and potential storm surge threats.

Repetitive flooding on roadways and at critical transportation facilities can severely impact travel and hurt regional and local economies.  When streets are impassable during and after flooding events, it often results in damages to personal property and missed work time, which has a crippling effect on communities.  For this reason, it is imperative for Hampton Roads to plan for climate change impacts to transportation infrastructure and to develop adaptation strategies for those facilities.  It is also important to consider the latest projections in sea level rise and storm surge when the region builds new roadway infrastructure or rebuilds existing roadway infrastructure.

In this study, HRTPO staff has partnered with Hampton Roads Planning District Commission (HRPDC) staff to conduct a comprehensive GIS-based flooding vulnerability analysis for potential sea level rise and storm surge impacts to regional roadways by 2045 (next Long-Range Transportation Plan horizon year). 

Click Here to view a copy of the final report.