NC Coastal Highway Vulnerability

The vulnerability of North Carolina coastal highways to damage from persistent shoreline erosion and individual storms is a major problem for North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT). This report provides an update to a 1991 study that identified "hot spots" where the highway was likely to require some remediation to maintain the transportation link. The present analysis identifies the potential vulnerability for a 20-year period beginning in 2003. The study includes both a long-term analysis based upon the rates of shoreline change and the location of the highway, and a short-term analysis based upon the simulation of individual storms. The latter analysis was only undertaken at an area near Kitty Hawk on the Outer Banks. The overall conclusion of this study is that there are numerous locations along the North Carolina coast where the combination of highway location and shoreline erosion lead to vulnerable conditions now, or within the next 20 years.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • This research was funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation, University Transportation Centers Program.
• Corporate Authors:

  North Carolina State University, Raleigh

  Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering
  2501 Stinson Drive, Campus Box 7908
  Raleigh, NC  United States  27695-7908

  North Carolina State University, Raleigh

  Center for Transportation and the Environment, Centennial Campus, Box 8601
  Raleigh, NC  United States  27695-8601

  North Carolina Department of Transportation

  P.O. Box 25201, 1 South Wilmington Street
  Raleigh, NC  United States  27611

  Research and Innovative Technology Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Overton, Margery
  • Fisher, John
• Publication Date: 2005-12-1

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Edition: Final Report
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 88p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bathymetry; Beach sands; Coastal engineering; Coasts; Digital maps; Dune sands; Erosion; Erosion control; Highway corridors; Risk assessment; Storm surges; Storms; Terrain evaluation; Waveform analysis
• Geographic Terms: North Carolina
• Subject Areas: Design; Energy; Environment; Highways; Hydraulics and Hydrology; Safety and Human Factors; I15: Environment; I26: Water Run-off - Freeze-thaw;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01051542
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: FHWA/NC/2004-04
• Files: UTC, TRIS, USDOT, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Jun 18 2007 11:15AM