Arup has been appointed by the Asian Development Bank to enhance climate resilience of highway infrastructure in the Yellow River basin of China.
Covering an area of 752,400km2, the Yellow River basin spans seven provinces and two autonomous regions and is home to around 150 million people. While the basin is a regionally important transport corridor, it faces complex and increasing climate risks including severe flooding, rainstorms, droughts, rainfall-induced landslides and erosion. Damage and disruption of highway infrastructure due to climate-related impacts can lead to widespread economic losses and community impacts.
As the project’s international consultant, we will work closely with the Ministry of Transport to conduct climate risk and adaptation assessment to identify climate change scenarios and highway infrastructure system impacts. The assessment includes a wide range of hazards and impacts, including extreme heat on pavement rutting, permafrost thaw on roadbed destabilisation and extreme rain on flooding.
In addition to conducting a climate risk and adaptation assessment, a case book of international best practices on effective climate adaptation measures will be developed for stakeholders to consider the right adaptation strategies.