Strategies for Prioritizing Needs for Accelerated Construction after Hazard Events

There is a need for rapid and responsive infrastructure repair and construction after natural disaster events such as hurricanes, wildfires, and tornadoes. These natural disasters often shut down basic infrastructure systems, as experienced recently in several Region 6 states as well as in other states around the country. Accelerated construction practices are often used in these situations to speed up the traditional, and often slow, project delivery process. However, after a natural disaster, several and different types of transportation infrastructure components are in need of inspection, rehabilitation or reconstruction, and transportation agencies are challenged with the task of prioritizing these accelerated projects. This study conducted an extensive literature review of current accelerated methods, infrastructure prioritization practices, and institutional barriers. Interviews with professionals from the transportation industry, including both private and public services, were conducted. Significant input from the railroad industry was used to compare private and public transportation systems responses after disasters. The results of this survey were used to quantify the importance of the accelerate methods and prioritization criteria, and which are the barriers to implement a prioritization model. Lastly, a decision support tool for prioritizing needs for accelerated construction after disaster events, specifically hurricanes and flooding, which commonly affect Region 6, was developed using the data collected.