Sustainable safety evaluation of roads network in case of extreme weather events

¹ Universidade do Minho, Department of Civil Engineering, Campus de Azurém, 4800-058, Guimarães, Portugal.
² University of Pisa, Department of Energy, System, Territory and Construction Engineering (DESTeC), Largo Lucio Lazzarino 1. 56120 Pisa, Italy.
³ University of Cagliari, Department of Civil, Environmental Engineering, and Architecture (DICAAR), Via Marengo 2, 09120 Cagliari, Italy.

Abstract

Recent failures in road networks highlight their vulnerability towards natural hazards, particularly to extreme weather events. This paper proposes a method to evaluate the safety of road networks in case of collapse of one or more bridges. In addition, relevant consequences in terms of safety of human life, direct and indirect cost are crucial aspects to consider. The framework described here is based on the knowledge of road and river network, of the individual bridges and of the traffic data. However, this approach can be generalized in case of interruption of road network due to other causes. An algorithm has been developed to extract traffic data from Google and elaborate it throughout a procedure based on the application of the USA Highway Capacity Manual. This consents to have a quantitative definition of the road traffic directly from the users and to get updated traffic data. The maps are processed throughout a GIS software and, thanks to the application of a routing algorithm and proper constraints, it is possible to evaluate the effects of the interruption of one or more bridges. The consequences are evaluated in terms of drivers’ delay and time cost. This provides useful information about priority of intervention with the aim of proposing to stakeholders a suitable instrument for disaster prevention and management.