Here you will learn about the adaptation approaches that can be used to reduce the impacts expected from climate change by the 2050s on the transport sector.

This includes the following topics:

• Rail;
• Highways;
• Highway Winter Maintenance;
• Tyne and Wear Metro;
• Road and Rail Bridges;
• Road and Rail Embankments;
• Bus Stations;
• Airports; and
• Ferry Terminals.

The information is reported at Regional and Sub-regional scales, as well as at Local Detail.

Rail
In order to adapt to the changes in the climate Network Rail has given high priority to initiatives to improve safety and performance.  Much is directed at understanding the impacts of severe weather and its associated effects, such as ‘leaf fall’.  To this end they have identified ‘Seasonal Preparedness’ as a priority area.  The organisation realises that increased knowledge of climate change will help them prepare more effective mitigation methods.  Better records are being kept and forecasted weather conditions are being compared to actual conditions in order to gauge accuracy.  New jobs have also been created, for example weather strategy posts and drainage engineers, in order to have a high level of experience and skill on hand.  Network Rail also sees the need to have close contact with other organisations that can provide monitoring and forecasting where they cannot.

There are a number of ways in which Network Rail is already adapting its management activities to account for the effect of climate change on its operations.  These include:

• Contingency plans for seasonal preparedness
• Flood plans
• Flood risk maps
• Seasonal guidance
• Working with the Met Office and the Environment Agency in order to gain early warnings

In the view of the railway community, ‘short life’ assets like track and electrification, which are renewed every 20-50 years, will tend not to be affected by climate change because design standards will evolve in pace with changing weather, and the assets will be renewed.  Of more concern are assets with longer life spans, like for example:

• Embankments and cuttings            150 yrs
• Tunnels and arch bridges              150 yrs
• Metal bridges                                 100 yrs
• Concrete bridges                             50 yrs

Engineering works can be undertaken to try and prevent extreme weather impacting on the railway line.  These are sometimes necessary in order for the rail network to permit safe operation and good performance level.  Engineering works that could be employed are:

• Rebuilding earthworks
• Providing scour protection to bridges
• Bolstering coastal defences
• Replacing track with a stiffer track construction

Highways Network
There are a number of measures that could be explored to mitigate the anticipated climate change-related impacts. These can be broadly split into two categories; reactive and pro-active.

Reactive measures are those that can deal with the direct effects on the road network. The effect of higher and lower temperatures on the road surface can be counteracted by the application of a number of material spreads.  A number of these spreads have less corrosive properties than existing salts.

Retrospective engineering techniques could be used to strengthen embankments against increased winter rainfall or to protect bridge piers from corrosion.  Highway structures can also be adapted to accept extremes of temperatures, for example abnormal loads due to thermal expansion.

However, it may be necessary in some cases to replace structures to ensure that the structure can withstand the predicted loading. If ground conditions are expected to change dramatically then it may be best to replace the full depth of road construction, although this would be expensive.  The construction of a new 3 lane motorway including associated earthworks, safety barrier, lighting and ducting etc. would cost in the region of £2,500 per linear metre with additional costs for associated items such as side bridges, underpasses and gantries.  This is based on new construction and in many instances the current road surfacing or sub-grade could be overlaid or widened offering financial savings with regards to plant, labour and materials, as well as with land take. 

Pro-active measures will attempt to predict the effects of the climate change and to deal with the indirect consequences. It is likely that because of the impacts outlined above, existing infrastructure will need to be subject to more frequent inspections to identify problems before the structure becomes a risk. This will include highway structures including earth structures and carriageway condition surveys.

Secondly, whilst weather monitoring is an ongoing process within the Area 14 MAC, it is likely that it will be required more during the non-winter months of the year due to impacts from climatic changes other than those of ice and snow. Better prediction would aid incident response and for diversions to be in place before the problem occurs. Better communication to the driving public needs to come with improved incident response. Those in high risk areas would then be adequately warned of both the dangers and diversion. As in other parts of the motorway network, this could be undertaken using existing infrastructure, such as variable message signing.

Extreme high temperatures should only have an impact upon roads that are treated with the coated chips and tarmac. This can be counteracted by application of treated materials to the road surface that will act to bind any material liquefying. Bitumen macadam road surfaces withstand higher extreme temperatures above that identified.  Any areas of road surfacing identified as being susceptible to high temperatures could be planed off and re-laid with bitumen macadam.  The cost of a road planer is in the region of £800 to £1,200 based on a nine hour shift and dependent on the cutting width of the machine.  The cost of a ten man surfacing gang is around £2,000 per day with 35mm of wearing-course costing £6 per square metre including the associated tack coat.  These costs are obviously dependent on the size of the works being undertaken and may change with economy of scale.

The impact of icy road conditions can be reduced by applying ECO-THAW or SafeCote.  A reduced amount of salt is used on the road network as it adheres to the road surface;   road salt currently costs £25 per tonne.  It is designed to be mixed with existing salt stockpiles or applied directly to road surfaces for anti and de-icing.  It is non-corrosive and when applied to chlorides it acts as a corrosion inhibitor.

Since the inception of the Environment Agency there has been a strong drive to implement sustainable drainage systems (SUDS). With recent flooding events, and changes in Environment Agency policy, drainage systems can no longer be considered separately to watercourses. An integrated approach considering both watercourses and drainage must be taken to ensure that neither have an adverse impact on the other. SUDS are a holistic approach to the problem of surface water disposal. They are designed to address not only water quantity but also water quality and amenity.

Engineering techniques can be employed to strengthen existing earthwork embankments or protect structures against the affect of scouring and strengthen existing structures.

Increased or better vegetation management is an option that could be employed to prevent any increased impact due to the longer growing season, and the increased incidence it is likely to cause due to impacts such as vegetation blocking road drainage and culverts.

Highway Winter Maintenance
The fixed costs are unlikely to change as the ice prediction system and forecasting are essential and plant costs will remain the same if the current levels of service are to be maintained.  With a reduction in number of snow days, however, it is likely that the variable costs will decrease.  The less severe temperatures are counterbalanced by an increase in winter rainfall and therefore the number of ice days may remain around present day occurrences. 

As the risk of snow still remains the apparatus and staff will still need to be on stand-by to act in the event of a snow or ice forecast.  In future the implementation of different management practises, for example gritter crews being employed in other occupations when not needed or increased gritting from outside contractors (e.g. farmers) may offer cost savings. 

Rail and Bus Station
The impact of icy road conditions can be reduced by applying ECO-THAW or SafeCote.  A reduced amount of salt can be used on access roads and footways as it adheres to the road surface.  It is designed to be mixed with existing salt stockpiles or applied directly to road surfaces for anti and de-icing.  It is non-corrosive and when applied to chlorides it acts as a corrosion inhibitor.

Since the inception of the Environment Agency there has been a strong drive to implement sustainable drainage systems (SUDS). With recent flooding events, and changes in Environment Agency policy, drainage systems can no longer be considered separately to watercourses. An integrated approach considering both watercourses and drainage must be taken to ensure that neither have an adverse impact on the other.

SUDS provide a holistic approach to the problem of surface water disposal. They are designed to address not only water quantity but also water quality and amenity.

Engineering techniques can be employed to strengthen or protect structures against the affect of scouring caused by flood water and strengthen existing structures against wind damage and flooding.  Structures can also be adapted to accept extremes of temperatures that give abnormal loads due to thermal expansion and contraction.

Tyne & Wear Metro
Contingency plans for seasonal preparedness should continue to be made.  These should capture indications of any significant climate changes through understanding trends in management interventions over years and planning for those trends over forthcoming years.  In addition, in working with the Met Office and the Environment Agency early warnings of extreme events can be received.

When rails and power lines are renewed as part of maintenance programmes, the effects of anticipated temperature increases should be included and the pantograph connection should be reviewed for greater security to power lines.

As in Nexus’ Future Development Plan, rolling stock should be replaced with consideration of the likely climate changes in mind, to ensure current foreseen problems are minimised.  This could include having more opening windows on the trains to allow more natural ventilation during periods of warm weather.

Road and Rail Bridges
All bridges should continue to be inspected regularly.  The frequency of inspections should be increased on bridges that are known to experience weather related problems; especially scour problems following periods of heavy rainfall.  Bridges in these areas may need strengthening or scour protecting and the commencement of scour at new locations should be carefully monitored. Inspection of bridge abutments and piers in larger watercourses would require the use of a dive team at a cost of approximately £4,000 per day. With these inspections it may be possible to identify trends such as the movement downstream of scour problems, thus allowing prevention rather than repair work to be considered.  Any problems with drainage or with corrosion could also be identified through regular inspections.  Scour protection at Harelaw Bridge in County Durham involved a concrete invert being constructed through the entire width of the river beneath the bridge costing £50,000.  This was major scour protection and most typical repairs would cost considerably less than this.

Road and Rail Embankments and Cuttings
Current maintenance strategies employed in the management of road and rail embankments and cuttings are considered to be adequate for the continued management of these assets.  However, increased inspection rates may be necessary following a wetter than average spring/summer, particularly for busy routes where there has been a previous history of failure.  It is also advised that inspection following severe drought is also made to routes that pass through clay-rich areas and if large cracks develop that they are sealed to prevent subsequent ingress of water.  In all cases care should be given to the continued maintenance of drainage systems to ensure excess rainfall does not enter the slopes.

Some embankments may need strengthening and a multitude of different strategies could be employed.  The use of gabion baskets is one option with one metre thick gabions costing approximately £60 to £100 per square metre.  The embankment could also be strengthened by the use of geo-synthetic materials to prevent both large scale and localised slips with layers of these materials placed within the embankment at regular intervals, see schematic plot overleaf. Geo-synthetic reinforcement and gabions would require some temporary retaining of the soils during construction and these temporary works would be an added cost in addition to plant, labour and materials.

Retaining wall maintenance will need to be increased, with particular attention to the drainage of the soils in the vicinity of the walls following increased winter rainfall to avoid increased loading or foundation instability.  Older walls may feature no drainage or insufficient drainage to the soils retained by the wall and increased drainage may need to be incorporated, for instance by the drilling of weep holes into the face of the wall, where it would be possible to do so without adversely affecting the stability of the wall.  The increased drainage requirements over the lifetime of the structure will need to be considered when designing new retaining walls.

Airports
To mitigate the impacts from increased rainfall better drainage will need to be installed.  This could be either through the upsizing of the existing drainage networks or through the installation of additional drainage.  Further information on the techniques available to upsizing surface drainage is covered in the adaptation section of the flooding section.  Due to the increased flows any oil interceptors or settlement lagoons may need to be enlarged or replaced with units of an increased size to accommodate the expected increase in flows.

Adaptation methods that could be implemented to cool the internals of buildings to provide a comfortable environment or to combat problems associated with the fabric of buildings is discussed in the public services and industry and business adaptation sections.

Any problems due to the softening of bitumen surfaces with increases in severe high temperatures should be easily mitigated and techniques from hotter parts of the world where airports operate, such as the Middle East or Australia should be investigated to enable implementation planning if a future need is highlighted .

There is nothing that can be done to prevent the impact to operations from increasing wind and airport operators may need to put facilities in place at the airport to deal with any increase in cancelled flights, such as a system to warm passengers as early as possible to maybe prevent them travelling to the airport through the use of email or a text messages to a mobile phone.  However, it is not expected that wind speeds will increase greatly and long-term monitoring of wind speeds at airports would allow any trends to be identified.  Any upward trend would highlight the possible need for adaptation measures.   

International Ferry Terminal
The adaptation techniques that apply to the Ferry Terminal are the same as those that are discussed in the Port Facilities Section with regard to the waterside operations.  The landings on both banks of the river currently facilitate vertical movement due to tidal movement and sea level rise may cause the landings to work at their limits of movement.  If this was to occur the landings could be modified to accommodate this additional movement, but it is likely that due to the rate of sea level rise the landings will be replaced before this becomes a problem.

The impacts to the terminal buildings and the car parking facilities are discussed in the Public Building and Business Parks Section of the Report, which deal with issues relating to the fabric of buildings.

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| Northumberland | Tyne & Wear | County Durham | Tees Valley |

 

Rail
In order to adapt to the changes in the climate Network Rail has given high priority to initiatives to improve safety and performance.  Much is directed at understanding the weather and its effects, such as ‘leaf fall’.  To this end they have identified ‘Seasonal Preparedness’ as a priority area.  The organisation realises that increased knowledge of climate change will help them prepare more effective mitigation methods.  Better records are being kept and forecasted weather conditions are being compared to actual conditions in order to gauge accuracy.  New jobs have also been created, for example weather strategy posts and drainage engineers, in order to have a high level of experience and skill on hand.  Network Rail also sees the need to have close contact with other organisations that can provide monitoring and forecasting where they cannot.

There are a number of ways in which Network Rail is already adapting its management activities to account for the effect of climate change on its operations.  These include:

• Contingency plans for seasonal preparedness
• Flood plans
• Flood risk maps
• Seasonal guidance
• Working with the Met Office and the Environment Agency in order to gain early warnings

In the view of the railway community, ‘short life’ assets like track and electrification, which are renewed every 20-50 years, will tend not to be affected by climate change because design standards will evolve in pace with changing weather, and the assets will be renewed.  Of more concern are assets with longer life spans, like for example:

• Embankments and cuttings            150 yrs
• Tunnels and arch bridges              150 yrs
• Metal bridges                                 100 yrs
• Concrete bridges                             50 yrs

Engineering works can be undertaken to try and prevent extreme weather impacted on the railway line.  These are sometimes necessary in order for the rail network to permit safe operation and good performance level.  Possible engineering works that could and are employed are:

• Rebuilding earthworks
• Providing scour protection to bridges
• Bolstering coastal defences
• Replacing track with a stiffer track construction

Highways Network
Extreme high temperatures should only have an impact upon roads that are treated with the coated chips and tarmac (surface dressing). This can be counteracted by application of treated materials to the road surface that will act to bind any material liquefying. Bitumen macadam road surfaces withstand higher extreme temperatures above that identified.  Any areas of road surfacing identified as being susceptible to high temperatures could be planed off and re-laid with bitumen macadam.  The cost of a road planer is in the region of £800 to £1,200 based on a nine hour shift and dependent on the cutting width of the machine.  The cost of a ten man surfacing gang is around £2,000 per day with 35mm of wearing-course costing £6 per square metre including the associated tack coat.  These costs are obviously dependent on the size of the works being undertaken and may change with economy of scale.

The impact of icy road conditions can be reduced by applying ECO-THAW or SafeCote.  A reduced amount of salt is used on the road network as it adheres to the road surface;   road salt currently costs £25 per tonne.  It is designed to be mixed with existing salt stockpiles or applied directly to road surfaces for anti and de-icing.  It is non-corrosive and when applied to chlorides it acts as a corrosion inhibitor.

Since the inception of the Environment Agency there has been a strong drive to implement sustainable drainage systems (SUDS). With recent flooding events, and changes in Environment Agency policy, drainage systems can no longer be considered separately to watercourses. An integrated approach considering both watercourses and drainage must be taken to ensure that neither have an adverse impact on the other. SUDS are a holistic approach to the problem of surface water disposal. They are designed to address not only water quantity but also water quality and amenity.

Engineering techniques can be employed to strengthen existing earthwork embankments or protect structures against the affect of scouring and strengthen existing structures.

Increased or better vegetation management is an option that could be employed to prevent any increased impact due to the longer growing season, and the increased incidence it is likely to cause due to vegetation on the lines, and the low adhesion and increased skidding it causes.

Road and Rail Embankments and Cuttings
Current maintenance strategies employed in the management of road and rail embankments and cuttings are considered to be adequate for the continued management of these assets.  However, increased inspection rates may be necessary following a wetter than average spring/summer, particularly for busy routes where there has been a previous history of failure.  It is also advised that inspection following severe drought is also made to routes that pass through clay-rich areas and if large cracks develop that they are sealed to prevent subsequent ingress of water.  In all cases care should be given to the continued maintenance of drainage systems to ensure excess rainfall does not enter the slopes.

Some embankments may need strengthening and a multitude of different strategies could be employed.  The use of gabion baskets is one option with one metre thick gabions costing approximately £60 to £100 per square metre.  The embankment could also be strengthened by the use of geo-synthetic materials to prevent both large scale and localised slips with layers of these materials placed within the embankment at regular intervals, see schematic plot overleaf. Geo-synthetic reinforcement and gabions would require some temporary retaining of the soils during construction and these temporary works would be an added cost in addition to plant, labour and materials.

Retaining wall maintenance may need to be investigated with particular attention to the drainage of the soils in the vicinity of the walls to avoid increased loading or foundation instability.  Older walls may feature no drainage or insufficient drainage to the soils retained by the wall and increased drainage may need to be incorporated, for instance by the drilling of weep holes into the face of the wall as long as they don’t affect the structural stability of the wall.  The increased drainage requirements over the lifetime of the structure will need to be considered when designing new retaining wall structures.

Rail and Bus Station
The impact of icy road conditions can be reduced by applying ECO-THAW or SafeCote. A reduced amount of salt can be used on access roads and footways as it adheres to the road surface.  It is designed to be mixed with existing salt stockpiles or applied directly to road surfaces for anti and de-icing.  It is non-corrosive and when applied to chlorides it acts as a corrosion inhibitor. This method of de-icing is currently adopted by Durham County Council.

Since the inception of the Environment Agency there has been a strong drive to implement sustainable drainage systems (SUDS). With recent flooding events, and changes in Environment Agency policy, drainage systems can no longer be considered separately to watercourses. An integrated approach considering both watercourses and drainage must be taken to ensure that neither have an adverse impact on the other.

SUDS provide a holistic approach to the problem of surface water disposal. They are designed to address not only water quantity but also water quality and amenity.

Engineering techniques can be employed to strengthen or protect structures against the affect of scouring caused by flood water and strengthen existing structures against wind damage and flooding.  Structures can also be adapted to accept extremes of temperatures that give abnormal loads.

 

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Rail
In order to adapt to the changes in the climate Network Rail has given high priority to initiatives to improve safety and performance.  Much is directed at understanding the weather and its effects, such as ‘leaf fall’.  To this end they have identified ‘Seasonal Preparedness’ as a priority area.  The organisation realises that increased knowledge of climate change will help them prepare more effective mitigation methods.  Better records are being kept and forecasted weather conditions are being compared to actual conditions in order to gauge accuracy.  New jobs have also been created, for example weather strategy posts and drainage engineers, in order to have a high level of experience and skill on hand.  Network Rail also sees the need to have close contact with other organisations that can provide monitoring and forecasting where they cannot.

There are a number of ways in which Network Rail is already adapting its management activities to account for the effect of climate change on its operations.  These include:

• Contingency plans for seasonal preparedness
• Flood plans
• Flood risk maps
• Seasonal guidance
• Working with the Met Office and the Environment Agency in order to gain early warnings

In the view of the railway community, ‘short life’ assets like track and electrification, which are renewed every 20-50 years, will tend not to be affected by climate change because design standards will evolve in pace with changing weather, and the assets will be renewed.  Of more concern are assets with longer life spans, like for example:

• Embankments and cuttings            150 yrs
• Tunnels and arch bridges              150 yrs
• Metal bridges                                 100 yrs
• Concrete bridges                             50 yrs

Engineering works can be undertaken to try and prevent extreme weather impacted on the railway line.  These are sometimes necessary in order for the rail network to permit safe operation and good performance level.  Possible engineering works that could and are employed are:

• Rebuilding earthworks
• Providing scour protection to bridges
• Bolstering coastal defences
• Replacing track with a stiffer track construction

Increased or better vegetation management is an option that could be employed to prevent any increased impact due to the longer growing season, and the increased incidence it is likely to cause due to vegetation on the lines, and the low adhesion and increased skidding it causes.

Highways Network
Extreme high temperatures should only have an impact upon roads that are treated with the coated chips and tarmac. These roads are very uncommon in Tyne and Wear and thus should not overly affect the sub-region.  The increased temperatures may not cause softening of the surface to the point where it ruts, however it may cause increased potholing of the surface of roads as the upper most layer of bound aggregate softens.  This may mean that councils will have to increase the funds made available to road maintenance. 

The increase in winter rainfall will mean that many roads, especially in urban areas with their high percentage of impermeable surfaces, will need an increase in drainage capacity and that where this is not possible water retention systems will need to be installed.  Further detail of this can be found in the flooding Section.

Since the inception of the Environment Agency there has been a strong drive to implement sustainable drainage systems (SUDS). With recent flooding events, and changes in Environment Agency policy, drainage systems can no longer be considered separately to watercourses. An integrated approach considering both watercourses and drainage must be taken to ensure that neither have an adverse impact on the other. SUDS are a holistic approach to the problem of surface water disposal. They are designed to address not only water quantity but also water quality and amenity.

With the number of snow days expected to reduce by up to 75% it is likely that this will become less of an issue as will winter maintenance generally.  However as snow events are still likely to occur, if less often, the Council may see no real reduction in the investment needed in this area as crews will still be needed on standby in the event of a snow event.

Road, Rail and Pedestrian Bridges
All bridges should continue to be inspected regularly.  The frequency of inspections should be increased on bridges that are known to experience weather related problems; especially scour problems following periods of heavy rainfall.  Bridges in these areas may need strengthening or scour protecting and the commencement of scour at new locations should be carefully monitored.  With these inspections it may be possible to identify trends such as the movement downstream of scour problems and thus allowing prevention rather than repair work to be considered.  Any problems with drainage or with corrosion could also be identified through regular inspections.

Tyne Tunnel
Adaptation to the Tyne tunnel it is envisaged will be undertaken as part of  the construction of the New Tyne Crossing and the associated refurbishment of the existing tunnel, with any concerns such as increased temperatures within the tunnel or changes in groundwater levels corrected during this work.   

Tyne and Wear Metro
Contingency plans for seasonal preparedness should continue to be made.  These should capture indications of any significant climate changes through understanding trends in management interventions over years and planning for those trends over forthcoming years.  In addition, in working with the Met Office and the Environment Agency early warnings of extreme events can be received.

When rails and power lines are renewed as part of maintenance programmes, the effects of anticipated temperature increases should be included and the pantograph connection should be reviewed for greater security to power lines.

As in Nexus’ Future Development Plan, rolling stock should be replaced with consideration of the likely climate changes in mind, to ensure current foreseen problems are minimised.  This could include having more opening windows on the trains to allow more natural ventilation during periods of warm weather.

Shields Ferry

If sea level rise causes the limits of the berthing structures become reached then it should be relatively easy to modify the structures to allow for increased movement.  However, it is likely that the structures will be replaced or undergo major maintenance before problems associated with sea level rise or surges become a problem and problems can be addressed at that time.

As changes associated with future wind projection are difficult to quantify we can assume a risk based approach.  If high winds do increase in frequency then the ferry will be out of operation for longer periods than is witnessed currently.  However, it is not expected that this will occur on such a frequency as to pose particular nuisance or concern and any inconvenience will just have to be borne as prevention of this is not practicable. 

 

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Rail
In order to adapt to the changes in the climate Network Rail has given high priority to initiatives to improve safety and performance.  Much is directed at understanding the weather and its effects, such as ‘leaf fall’.  To this end they have identified ‘Seasonal Preparedness’ as a priority area.  The organisation realises that increased knowledge of climate change will help them prepare more effective mitigation methods.  Better records are being kept and forecasted weather conditions are being compared to actual conditions in order to gauge accuracy.  New jobs have also been created, for example weather strategy posts and drainage engineers, in order to have a high level of experience and skill on hand.  Network Rail also sees the need to have close contact with other organisations that can provide monitoring and forecasting where they cannot.

There are a number of ways in which Network Rail is already adapting its management activities to account for the effect of climate change on its operations.  These include:

• Contingency plans for seasonal preparedness
• Flood plans
• Flood risk maps
• Seasonal guidance
• Working with the Met Office and the Environment Agency in order to gain early warnings

In the view of the railway community, ‘short life’ assets like track and electrification, which are renewed every 20-50 years, will tend not to be affected by climate change because design standards will evolve in pace with changing weather, and the assets will be renewed.  Of more concern are assets with longer life spans, like for example:

• Embankments and cuttings            150 yrs
• Tunnels and arch bridges              150 yrs
• Metal bridges                                 100 yrs
• Concrete bridges                             50 yrs

Engineering works can be undertaken to try and prevent extreme weather impacted on the railway line.  These are sometimes necessary in order for the rail network to permit safe operation and good performance level.  Possible engineering works that could and are employed are:

• Rebuilding earthworks
• Providing scour protection to bridges
• Bolstering coastal defences
• Replacing track with a stiffer track construction

Networks Rail’s current view on dealing with climate change is “in summary, for extreme weather, we have predetermined systems to manage the effect on our assets, based on pragmatic knowledge on the likely behaviour of the asset”.

Highways Network
Extreme high temperatures should only have an impact upon roads that are treated with the coated chips and tarmac (surface dressing). This can be counteracted by application of treated materials to the road surface that will act to bind any material liquefying. Bitumen macadam road surfaces withstand higher extreme temperatures above that identified.  Any areas of road surfacing identified as being susceptible to high temperatures could be planed off and re-laid with bitumen macadam.  The cost of a road planer is in the region of £800 to £1,200 based on a nine hour shift and dependent on the cutting width of the machine.  The cost of a ten man surfacing gang is around £2,000 per day with 35mm of wearing-course costing £6 per square metre including the associated tack coat.  These costs are obviously dependent on the size of the works being undertaken and may change with economy of scale.

The impact of icy road conditions can be reduced by applying ECO-THAW or SafeCote. A reduced amount of salt is used on the road network as it adheres to the road surface;   road salt currently costs £25 per tonne.  It is designed to be mixed with existing salt stockpiles or applied directly to road surfaces for anti and de-icing.  It is non-corrosive and when applied to chlorides it acts as a corrosion inhibitor.

Since the inception of the Environment Agency there has been a strong drive to implement sustainable drainage systems (SUDS). With recent flooding events, and changes in Environment Agency policy, drainage systems can no longer be considered separately to watercourses. An integrated approach considering both watercourses and drainage must be taken to ensure that neither have an adverse impact on the other. SUDS are a holistic approach to the problem of surface water disposal. They are designed to address not only water quantity but also water quality and amenity.

Engineering techniques can be employed to strengthen existing earthwork embankments or protect structures against the affect of scouring and strengthen existing structures.

Increased or better vegetation management is an option that could be employed to prevent any increased impact due to the longer growing season, and the increased incidence it is likely to cause due to vegetation on the lines, and the low adhesion and increased skidding it causes.

Road and Rail Embankments and Cuttings
Current maintenance strategies employed in the management of road and rail embankments and cuttings are considered to be adequate for the continued management of these assets.  However, increased inspection rates may be necessary following a wetter than average spring/summer, particularly for busy routes where there has been a previous history of failure.  It is also advised that inspection following severe drought is also made to routes that pass through clay-rich areas and if large cracks develop that they are sealed to prevent subsequent ingress of water.  In all cases care should be given to the continued maintenance of drainage systems to ensure excess rainfall does not enter the slopes.

Some embankments may need strengthening and a multitude of different strategies could be employed.  The use of gabion baskets is one option with one metre thick gabions costing approximately £60 to £100 per square metre.  The embankment could also be strengthened by the use of geo-synthetic materials to prevent both large scale and localised slips with layers of these materials placed within the embankment at regular intervals, see schematic plot overleaf. Geo-synthetic reinforcement and gabions would require some temporary retaining of the soils during construction and these temporary works would be an added cost in addition to plant, labour and materials.

Retaining wall maintenance may need to be investigated with particular attention to the drainage of the soils in the vicinity of the walls to avoid increased loading or foundation instability.  Older walls may feature no drainage or insufficient drainage to the soils retained by the wall and increased drainage may need to be incorporated, for instance by the drilling of weep holes into the face of the wall as long as they don’t affect the structural stability of the wall.  The increased drainage requirements over the lifetime of the structure will need to be considered when designing new retaining wall structures.

Rail and Bus Station
The impact of icy road conditions can be reduced by applying ECO-THAW or SafeCote. A reduced amount of salt can be used on access roads and footways as it adheres to the road surface.  It is designed to be mixed with existing salt stockpiles or applied directly to road surfaces for anti and de-icing.  It is non-corrosive and when applied to chlorides it acts as a corrosion inhibitor. This method of de-icing is currently adopted by Durham County Council.

Since the inception of the Environment Agency there has been a strong drive to implement sustainable drainage systems (SUDS). With recent flooding events, and changes in Environment Agency policy, drainage systems can no longer be considered separately to watercourses. An integrated approach considering both watercourses and drainage must be taken to ensure that neither have an adverse impact on the other.

SUDS provide a holistic approach to the problem of surface water disposal. They are designed to address not only water quantity but also water quality and amenity.

Engineering techniques can be employed to strengthen or protect structures against the affect of scouring caused by flood water and strengthen existing structures against wind damage and flooding.  Structures can also be adapted to accept extremes of temperatures that give abnormal loads.

 

top

Rail
In order to adapt to the changes in the climate Network Rail has given high priority to initiatives to improve safety and performance.  Much is directed at understanding the weather and its effects, such as ‘leaf fall’.  To this end they have identified ‘Seasonal Preparedness’ as a priority area.  The organisation realises that increased knowledge of climate change will help them prepare more effective mitigation methods.  Better records are being kept and forecasted weather conditions are being compared to actual conditions in order to gauge accuracy.  New jobs have also been created, for example weather strategy posts and drainage engineers, in order to have a high level of experience and skill on hand.  Network Rail also sees the need to have close contact with other organisations that can provide monitoring and forecasting where they cannot.

There are a number of ways in which Network Rail is already adapting its management activities to account for the effect of climate change on its operations.  These include:

• Contingency plans for seasonal preparedness
• Flood plans
• Flood risk maps
• Seasonal guidance
• Working with the Met Office and the Environment Agency in order to gain early warnings

In the view of the railway community, ‘short life’ assets like track and electrification, which are renewed every 20-50 years, will tend not to be affected by climate change because design standards will evolve in pace with changing weather, and the assets will be renewed.  Of more concern are assets with longer life spans, like for example:

• Embankments and cuttings            150 yrs
• Tunnels and arch bridges              150 yrs
• Metal bridges                                 100 yrs
• Concrete bridges                             50 yrs

Engineering works can be undertaken to try and prevent extreme weather impacted on the railway line.  These are sometimes necessary in order for the rail network to permit safe operation and good performance level.  Possible engineering works that could and are employed are:

• Rebuilding earthworks
• Providing scour protection to bridges
• Bolstering coastal defences
• Replacing track with a stiffer track construction

Highways Network
Extreme high temperatures should only have an impact upon roads that are treated with the coated chips and tarmac (surface dressing). This can be counteracted by application of treated materials to the road surface that will act to bind any material liquefying. Bitumen macadam road surfaces withstand higher extreme temperatures above that identified.  Any areas of road surfacing identified as being susceptible to high temperatures could be planed off and re-laid with bitumen macadam.  The cost of a road planer is in the region of £800 to £1,200 based on a nine hour shift and dependent on the cutting width of the machine.  The cost of a ten man surfacing gang is around £2,000 per day with 35mm of wearing-course costing £6 per square metre including the associated tack coat.  These costs are obviously dependent on the size of the works being undertaken and may change with economy of scale.

The impact of icy road conditions can be reduced by applying ECO-THAW or SafeCote. A reduced amount of salt is used on the road network as it adheres to the road surface; road salt currently costs £25 per tonne.  It is designed to be mixed with existing salt stockpiles or applied directly to road surfaces for anti and de-icing.  It is non-corrosive and when applied to chlorides it acts as a corrosion inhibitor. This method of de-icing is currently adopted by Durham County Council. 

Since the inception of the Environment Agency there has been a strong drive to implement sustainable drainage systems (SUDS). With recent flooding events, and changes in Environment Agency policy, drainage systems can no longer be considered separately to watercourses. An integrated approach considering both watercourses and drainage must be taken to ensure that neither have an adverse impact on the other. SUDS are a holistic approach to the problem of surface water disposal. They are designed to address not only water quantity but also water quality and amenity.

Engineering techniques can be employed to strengthen existing earthwork embankments or protect structures against the affect of scouring and strengthen existing structures.

Increased or better vegetation management is an option that could be employed to prevent any increased impact due to the longer growing season, and the increased incidence it is likely to cause due to vegetation on the lines, and the low adhesion and increased skidding it causes.

Road, Rail and Pedestrian Bridges
All bridges should continue to be inspected regularly.  The frequency of inspections should be increased on bridges that are known to experience weather related problems; especially scour problems following periods of heavy rainfall.  Bridges in these areas may need strengthening or scour protecting and the commencement of scour at new locations should be carefully monitored.  With these inspections it may be possible to identify trends such as the movement downstream of scour problems and thus allowing prevention rather than repair work to be considered.  Any problems with drainage or with corrosion could also be identified through regular inspections.

Some further investigation may need to be made to ascertain whether it is ever likely that the Transporter bridge will be susceptible from increased sea level to allow time for measures to be put in place if this is found to be a potential problem. 

Rail and Bus Station
The impact of icy road conditions can be reduced by applying ECO-THAW or SafeCote. A reduced amount of salt can be used on access roads and footways as it adheres to the road surface.  It is designed to be mixed with existing salt stockpiles or applied directly to road surfaces for anti and de-icing.  It is non-corrosive and when applied to chlorides it acts as a corrosion inhibitor. This method of de-icing is currently adopted by Durham County Council.

Since the inception of the Environment Agency there has been a strong drive to implement sustainable drainage systems (SUDS). With recent flooding events, and changes in Environment Agency policy, drainage systems can no longer be considered separately to watercourses. An integrated approach considering both watercourses and drainage must be taken to ensure that neither have an adverse impact on the other.

SUDS provide a holistic approach to the problem of surface water disposal. They are designed to address not only water quantity but also water quality and amenity.

Engineering techniques can be employed to strengthen or protect structures against the affect of scouring caused by flood water and strengthen existing structures against wind damage and flooding.  Structures can also be adapted to accept extremes of temperatures that give abnormal loads.

 

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