Flood Reduction Benefits of On-Road Structures

Sponsor:

Iowa Department of Transportation

Team:

Antonio Arenas Amado, Larry Weber, Marian Muste, & Ibrahim Demir

Award:

$450,000

Location:

All 99 counties in Iowa

Project Date: Jan. 2021-Dec. 2023

Services provided by IFC:

The Iowa Flood Center is evaluating the flood reduction benefits of on-road structures and will create a statewide database siting suitable locations for new structures and flood storage potential.

Proposal: Assessing the Flood Reduction Benefits of On-Road Structures

Project Description:

On-road structures provide an alternative to conventional culverts. Pioneered in northeast Iowa, on-road structures use the roadway embankment as a dam, and flow through the culvert is restricted to provide flood storage for large precipitation events.

On-road structure

This project will use advanced hydrologic modeling and GIS-based analysis to quantify the flood reduction benefits of existing ORS and create a statewide database with candidate locations for construction of new ORS and estimate their flood storage potential. Furthermore, the project will build a web-based information system to create user-friendly visualizations of the project results and provide access to the project’s products. At the conclusion of the project, IFC will present the research in a final report and create outreach materials to facilitate the dissemination of the project’s most important findings.