PROJECT. COLLABORATION. INNOVATION.
SEED FUND 2024
RIADA: Irish road network Rapid Impact Assessment (RIA) for an efficient recovery after major disasters
Natural disasters keep increasing in number and intensity due to climate change, impacting the environment, the economy and theinfrastructure. In particular, road infrastructure is highly affected by these events and, as a principal ‘lifeline’ in a community, its disruption can have significant consequences. Tangible examples can be found in the numerous events recorded in Ireland in recent years, such as flooding, storms and freezing temperatures that annually affect the road infrastructure all over the country, causing disruption and damages.
This project primarily aims to develop a consistent and systematic Rapid Impact Assessment (RIA) framework to assess the conditionof the road network in Ireland immediately after major disasters. Additionally, it aims to raise awareness on the importance and benefitsof having a process in place. While a framework and guidance for emergency management have been developed in Ireland, a systematic process to assess the impacts of the event itself is not yet available and included in any policies.
The RIA framework will provide road administrators with a tool for a rapid evaluation of the consequences of a disaster, estimating theresources required, and facilitating informed optimised economic decisions for a more efficient recovery and use of funds.
Applicant’s name and RPO member:
Dr. Ciarán Hanley – University College Cork
Collaborators
Principal Investigator
Dr. Ciarán Hanley
University College Cork
Ciarán is a Lecturer in Structural Engineering at University College Cork. He is a Chartered Engineer with 10 years’ experience in the design and assessment of bridges, marine and civil structures; and is the author more than a dozen technical publications on performance-based design and life-cycle assessment of bridges, structural safety and reliability assessment of bridges, and multivariate analysis of bridge management systems. He is a technical reviewer of the international journals Structure and Infrastructure Engineering, Proceedings of the ICE – Bridge Engineering, and Proceedings of the ICE – Infrastructure Asset Management, as well as a board member of the Civil Engineering Research Association of Ireland. He was a participant of the EU research project TU1406: Quality specifications for roadway bridges, standardization at a European Level, and is Rapporteur for the succeeding organisation EuroStruct. He was a finalist for Engineers Ireland Chartered Engineer of the Year in 2019.
Related content
