pacific nw transportation consortium region 10 Pactrans

Assessment of Washington State Bridges for Post-Earthquake Mobility and Recover Planning

PI: Adam Phillips (WSU), a.phillips@wsu.edu, ORCID: 0000-0003-2486-6039

Co PIs: Chris Motter

AMOUNT & MATCH: $40,000 from PacTrans; $40,000 Match

PERFORMANCE PERIOD: 8/16/2020 – 8/15/2022

STATUS: Completed

CATEGORIES: Bridges, Structures, Recovery Planning, Earthquakes, Natural Disaster

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DESCRIPTION: Because the DHS (2019) study predicts such widespread and high levels of bridge damage, the response and recovery plan is heavily reliant on air transportation to provide resources to the affected populations. However, surface transportation modes, if available, are better suited for moving large volumes of resources and serving as critical lifelines for impacted regions of the state. The goal of this study, along with another PacTrans collaborative proposal and two WSDOT research proposals, is to create an improved map of predicted non-functional, partially functional, and functional bridges that will assist in post-earthquake emergency planning.

This research will focus on modeling and determining the functionality of bridges along the routes that connect the support bases and staging areas to the main WSDOT critical lifeline corridor of I5/405. Much of WSDOT’s research activities focus on the I5/405 lifeline but does not directly access the functionality of the routes connecting into it. Without these secondary routes, the post-earthquake mobility of the state will be drastically reduced, emergency management plans will be difficult to enact, and long-term recovery will be impaired. The focus of this particular study is on Washington, but it is envisioned that the proposed methodology will provide a framework for future implementation in Oregon, Alaska, and British Columbia.