Risk Evaluation of Unbound Pavement Layers to Extreme Weather Events Using Remote Sensing

Abstract

The resilience of transportation infrastructure during and after extreme weather events, such as flash floods, sea-level rise, and hurricanes, is critical. A disruption in transportation and road networks during and after such events can delay emergency services and may disrupt the evacuation process. Studying the resilience of the transportation networks with a comprehensive data source can enhance the resiliency of infrastructure and assess the risks associated with a natural disaster. In this study, open-source satellite observations were used to investigate the impact of Hurricane Harvey on the performance of the pavement network in the State of Texas in 2017. Using volumetric moisture content, the environmental stress factor was calculated before, during, and after the hurricane to estimate the changes in the strength of geomaterial pavement layers. A preliminary risk assessment parameter was developed to evaluate and compare the resiliency of roads in the network. The results of this study can be further extended to other coastal regions with the incorporation of more in situ data and an extended version of the risk factor.