COURSE DESCRIPTION:

Over 60,000 miles of roads in the United States are occasionally exposed to coastal surge and waves. Due to these unique design conditions, many highways and bridges suffer damage during coastal storms, including hurricanes and El Nino events. The purpose of this course is to teach important concepts and terminology of coastal science and engineering to highway engineers for use in the planning and design of coastal roads. The course is based on the Hydraulic Engineering Circular (HEC) No. 25, "Highways in the Coastal Environment" (2nd Edition), which is also used in the course as a reference manual.

The course includes the use of a portable flume for demonstration of key concepts and for hands-on participant activities. In addition to the presentation of materials and the flume demonstrations, the course incorporates various workshops and exercises to reinforce key concepts. Topics covered in the course include:

1. Introduction to highways in the coastal environment

2. Waves

3. Tide and water levels

4. Revetment design for coastal embankments

5. Wave loads on bridge decks

6. Coastal geology and sediments

7. Shoreline change and stabilization

8. Road overwash

9. Tidal inlets and coastal bridges

OUTCOMES:

Upon completion of the course, participants will be able to:

• Describe coastal engineering design issues related to highways using standard terminology with an understanding of the physical processes unique to this design environment
• Identify appropriate planning, analysis, and design methods for highways and bridges exposed to coastal surge and waves
• Describe differing levels of complexity involving coastal engineering and appropriate qualifications of engineers and coastal engineering consultants to address this complexity in design.

TARGET AUDIENCE:

Participants are adult learners with (1) a general civil engineering education and background who currently work in highway planning and design and (2) coastal engineers with some experience in transportation engineering.

If you have questions about this NHI training, please contact NHI at nhicustomerservice@dot.gov or 877.558.6873.