An Assessment of the Evacuation Capacity of Los Angeles Roadways and Bridges

Research Team: Ertugrul Taciroglu (Lead) and Barbaros Cetiner

UC Campus(es): UCLA

Problem Statement: In the event of a natural disaster or other emergency it may be critical to evacuate large numbers of residents from the affected areas. In turn, California's transportation agencies, in some circumstances, will need to consider the capacity of roadways and bridges to quickly and effectively evacuate persons who may be at risk. To do this, agencies will need accurate and up-to-date information on the condition of the state’s roads and bridges, and potential vulnerability of these transportation assets in different scenarios.

Project Description: All roadways and bridges that are part of the Los Angeles County transportation system will be modeled in great detail to predict the probability of them suffering damage from earthquakes, fires, tsunamis, and other disasters. The model will consider topological features; soil characteristics; and other key factors. This information will be compared with the Southern California Association of Governments’ transportation model to identify the best ways to maximize network resiliency and evacuation capacity under different budget constraints.

Status: In Progress

Budget: $80,000