Monroe County is among the most vulnerable communities in the nation to rising sea levels, with a 120-mile archipelago of islands, most of which are at or near sea level as well as ranking among highest areas in the Country for impacts of tidal flooding. The County is well aware that being a coastal community exposes the population to the long-term Sea Level Rise (SLR) risks including public infrastructure and natural habitats within these highly vulnerable zones and understands that actively protecting infrastructure to ensure continuity of public services will lead to a competitive advantage across economic, built, and natural environments as climate change makes a progressively greater impact on the region. Proof of this is the County’s pro-active approach dating back to 2007 when it endorsed the US Mayors Agreement on Climate Change, to most recently planning to execute this contract, the Roadway Vulnerability Analysis and Capital Plan.   Being part of the South Florida Regional Climate Change Compact, establishing the County’s Climate Change Advisory Committee, and the development and implementation of the GreenKeys! Sustainability Action Plan portrays the vision, investment, and long term commitment the County has to proactively plan for the future of the Florida Keys. 

Climate change, including but not limited to extreme weather conditions and sea level rising has prompted planners and officials to focus on strategies that support a more resilient system.  The County’s and State roadway system is vital for its access/evacuation and mobilization within the Florida Keys.  It provides a crucial contribution to economic development and growth as well as brings important social benefits.  A well maintained roadway system in the County invites tourism and serves its residents by providing access to employment, social, health, and education.  The County maintains an estimated 311 miles of roads distributed among more than 1200 roadway segments throughout the County.
As part of the County’s proactive sustainability approach this project is to merge climate change science and modeling, with transportation engineering and planning to develop a long-term roads adaptation plan based on design criteria, SLR projections, adaptation methodology, policy/financing evaluation, and public/stakeholder outreach.  The primary objective of the project is to analyze the impacts of current and projected levels of SLR on all County Maintained roads and stormwater features, and to develop an implementation plan and timeline to adapt roads and drainage for future SLR. The results will also be used to determine new policy considerations and design criteria for what the acceptable levels of service should be for County maintained roads.