INFRASTRUCTURE PROTECTIONHelping MTA in Combating Climate Threats
NYU Tandon School research team developed computer model that quickly tests hundreds of resilience strategies to determine the best ways to defend subways against coastal storm surge flooding.
As transit agencies face growing climate risks and limited capital budgets, deciding which flood protection measures to implement — and where — has become a critical challenge.
Now, a research team at NYU Tandon School of Engineering has built a computer modeling framework that allows agencies to rapidly test and prioritize hundreds of subway resilience strategies for coastal storm surge flooding before committing to major infrastructure investments.
Developed in collaboration with researchers at Columbia University and Princeton University, the model enables the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to simulate coastal storm surge flooding scenarios under different climate projections and evaluate which combinations of coastal barriers and station-level protections will provide the greatest return on investment.
The physics-based approach, published in Transportation Research, calculates flooding extent and economic losses for each scenario in about one minute on a standard laptop. This speed makes comprehensive resilience planning practical for the MTA, the state agency that oversees NYC’s public transportation system.
The research team validated its simulation by accurately reproducing Superstorm Sandy’s 2012 flooding patterns. That storm inundated 150 subway stations across New York City, causing $5 billion in repair costs to stations, tunnels, and electrical systems, plus additional economic losses from extended service disruptions.
Since that event, the MTA has invested $7.6 billion in repairs and nearly 4,000 coastal surge protections, including elevating critical infrastructure, securing entrances at underground subway stations, and installing marine doors at the Hugh L. Carey and Queens Midtown tunnels.
“Protecting our infrastructure and the New Yorkers that rely on it from the impacts of climate change is one of the MTA’s top priorities,” said Eric Wilson, Senior Vice President of Climate & Land Use at the MTA. “Innovative tools like this give us a powerful, data-driven way to evaluate resilience investments before we build them, helping ensure every dollar we spend strengthens the system and safeguards service for millions of daily riders.”
