moving service to lower-risk areas. For instance, the increasing vulnerability of some coastal areas may make their continued operation infeasible. In some ways, this is the most radical option; transportation corridors have historically rarely been completely abandoned in the United States. Of course, as communities and businesses themselves relocate, infrastructure needs also will shift.
2.4 Policy Option Areas Recommended by Others The previous sections highlight the need for adaptation planning at the national, state, and local levels to address the potential impacts of climate change on the nation’s transportation infra-
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Long-term adaptation strategies might include changes in land use management policies in order to reduce risks to people and transportation infrastructure by avoiding areas
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vulnerable to climate change. structure. A wide range of policy options have been presented in the literature regarding adaptation approaches to deal with the impacts of climate change, as shown in Table 2.1 (see page 28). For our purposes, these policy options can be thought of as addressing one of five different areas:
BAC K G R O U N D O N T H E P OT E N TI A L I M PAC T S O F C LI M AT E C H A N G E O N T R A N S P O RTATI O N
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