CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - New Hampshire officials will use federal funds to examine the effects of rising seas on major highways and connecting routes along the coast.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is funding a ” vulnerability assessment ” for the I-95, Route 1 and Route 1A corridors and local connector roads, New Hampshire Public Radio reported.
Researchers will combine traffic models and climate change projections to determine what areas have a higher risk of flooding from rising sea levels.
A 2015 report by the Rockingham Planning Commission found that a 1.7-foot rise in sea levels would flood five miles of New Hampshire coastal roads. A 4-foot rise would flood more than 23 miles of roads.
A state report released last year estimated a 1-to-3-foot rise is “likely” by 2100 under most scenarios and that there is a 1-in-20 chance that a 4-foot rise could happen by the turn of the next century.
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