Emergency Reconstruction of Critical Transportation Infrastructure

The damage caused by Hurricanes, Katrina, Rita, and Wilma have demonstrated potential for enormous property damage and loss of life and disruption of government and other institutions in Alabama. Similar damage could result from a terrorist attack or series of attacks. The low probability of terrorist attacks and uncertainty where natural disasters will occur make it difficult to justify contingency planning dollars for the repair or replacement of specific facilities. When a disaster occurs, the urgency of the situation suggests that a deliberate design-bid-build process is not practical and an alternative approach is used to resolve the crisis. It is reasonable to question whether the quality of design; value engineering; material and service procurement; contractor selection; worker compensation and safety; and government oversight are in proper balance to insure just and reasonable costs to the taxpayers. Comprehensive plans and procedures for the management, control and oversight of the Construction Industry during the recovery and rebuilding operations in Alabama is a proactive approach to security management. This paper addresses the need to review historical performance and to present ideas for preplanning and implementation process enhancement. The first phase compiled of available data describing the recovery and reconstruction experiences of transportation infrastructure facilities after accidents or natural disasters. The second phase studied of the potential approval, procurement, contracting, funding and scheduling processes associated with recovery and reconstruction from disaster events. The third phase formulated recommended contingency planning processes for recovery and reconstruction operations based on the results of the supporting research.

• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Hitchcock, Wilbur
  • Nunez, Sandra
  • Watson, Stephanie
• Conference:
  • Transportation Research Board 88th Annual Meeting
  • Location: Washington DC, United States
  • Date: 2009-1-11 to 2009-1-15
• Date: 2009

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: DVD
• Features: References; Tables;
• Pagination: 16p
• Monograph Title: TRB 88th Annual Meeting Compendium of Papers DVD

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Construction; Design build; Disaster preparedness; Disasters and emergency operations; Emergency management; Hazards and emergency operations; Loss and damage; Safety and security; Terrorism
• Identifier Terms: Hurricane Katrina, 2005; Hurricane Rita, 2005; Hurricane Wilma, 2005
• Uncontrolled Terms: Natural disasters
• Geographic Terms: Alabama
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Construction; Highways; Pavements; Security and Emergencies; I21: Planning of Transport Infrastructure;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01122173
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 09-3588
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Feb 19 2009 2:42PM