The Federal Highway Administration’s National Highway Institute (NHI) is offering several environmental web-based training courses addressing climate change through adaptation and resilience. The courses are aimed primarily towards the needs of transportation personnel who work in engineering, design, and project development/NEPA units in transportation agencies (mainly State DOTs). The courses will also be relevant to those interested in planning, asset management, operations, and maintenance. Expected participants include experienced staff from State DOTs, local governments, Tribal governments, Federal State agencies, and consultants.
The free Web-based Trainings (WBTs) are prerequisites for an in-person Instructor-Led training course.
- Understanding Past, Current and Future Climate Change (FHWA-NHI-142081, 2 HOURS, free). This dynamic WBT will provide participants an introduction to: future projections of various climate variables including precipitation, temperature, and sea levels; climate science principles; and, an overview of potential impacts of these changes on transportation facilities.
- Introduction to Temperature and Precipitation Projections (FHWA-NHI-142082, 1 HOUR, free) is a WBT that shows participants how to develop projections tailored to transportation project planning and design and discusses associated limitations and uncertainties.
- Systems Level Vulnerability Assessments (FHWA-NHI-142083, 2 HOURS, free). This WBT introduces participants to vulnerability concepts to understand extreme weather impacts on roadway infrastructure. Participants will learn the purpose of systems level vulnerability assessments, the various techniques used to conduct them, and how to use their results.
- Adaptation Analysis for Project Decision Making (FHWA-NHI-142084, 2 HOURS, free). This WBT introduces participants to conducting facility-level adaptation assessments for project development processes. Learners will be introduced to risk-based approaches to develop and evaluate adaptation options and select an adaptation strategy.
- Addressing Climate Resilience in Highway Project Development and Preliminary Design (FHWA-NHI-141085(A)) course is an Instructor-led Training (ILT) where participants will incorporate resilience concepts into engineering analysis, identify appropriate resilience strategies and recognize potential linkages between adaptive project development and environmental processes. Learners will also be introduced to project-level adaptation assessment methods.