In recent years, the UK has witnessed more intense rain storms, resulting in more incidences of flooding and a vast increase in severe winter weather such as unusually heavy snowfall, resulting in disruption to transport infrastructure and a significant impact on society and the economy.
Despite this, periods of extreme weather in the UK are still rare events compared with other European countries, making it harder to predict and plan when resources should be employed.
The new ICE guide draws together in one place, research and guidance from across the industry to help municipal and highway engineers make more informed decisions. It includes guidance on a range of areas – from predicting and responding to events, managing traffic to avoid grid lock, salt reserve and treatment strategies right through to communicating with the public and managing expectations.
With the aim of sharing best practice and ensuring the guidance remains up to date, ICE is inviting highway engineers to send their experiences of good engineering practice in their local area, or ways that engineers have helped overcome a particularly difficult weather related scenario to transport@ice.org.uk .
Damian McGettrick from ICE’s Municipal Expert Panel, said: “The bouts of extreme weather seen over the last few years and currently in some parts of the UK, result in widespread disruption to the transport network and have a significant impact upon commerce. Such incidences have also identified some areas in the supply chain that are in need of improvement. This online resource provides a great ‘one stop shop’ for the engineers managing our critical road transport infrastructure in the face of adverse weather conditions. It will help them in making informed decisions and also give them access to other information, literature and best practice from right across the industry.”
The guide is available free of charge at: http://www.ice.org.uk/extremeweatherguide
The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) is a leading source of professional expertise in transport, water supply and treatment, flood management, waste and energy. Established in 1818, it has over 80,000 members throughout the world including over 60,000 in the UK. ICE’s vision is to place civil engineering the heart of society, delivering sustainable development through knowledge, skills and professional expertise. The ICE has long worked with the government of the day to help it to achieve its objectives, and has worked with industry to ensure that construction and civil engineering remain major contributors to the UK economy.