Roadway Flooding Sensors

The Hampton Roads region frequently experiences roadway flooding from tide, wind, and rain. The Hampton Roads Planning District Commission (HRPDC) implemented a pilot project to deploy a regional network of water level sensors to monitor roadway flooding. The primary objective was to use real-time data to support informed decision-making and improve awareness of roadway conditions, while a secondary objective was to share this data with regional stakeholders to better understand and anticipate flooding events.

Twenty sensors were installed across seven municipal jurisdictions. The distributed network consisted of pressure transducers and radar sensors measuring water levels relative to roadway elevation. Each site was equipped with telemetry to transmit data to a web-based portal displaying real-time water levels in relation to roadway elevation.

Sensor data was securely shared with the navigation app Waze through its Community Partnership Program and flooded locations were displayed within the app, allowing drivers approaching or routing through flooded areas to receive advance warnings and be re-routed to safer alternatives. Data was also available through a web portal capable of issuing email and text alerts, and was exportable to support research partnerships with academic institutions focused on flooding trends and model validation.

Building on the success of the pilot network, a new phase of the regional roadway flooding sensor project is underway through a Community Flood Preparedness Fund (CFPF) Round 5 grant award. This phase will expand the network to include sensors in 15 localities and continue to enhance flood resilience and preparedness in the Region.

Project Background

HRPDC coordinated with its 17 member jurisdictions to identify two hundred road locations that experience frequent flooding and picked twenty locations for the pilot project. Local staff and elected officials have endorsed the expansion of the network based on the success of the pilot project.

This project is a testament to the value of collaboration. Hampton Roads has a particularly high percentage of workers that work outside of their locality of residence so developing one regional system instead of individual locality systems is beneficial to commuters. In 2021, 43% of all workers in the region worked in a locality that was different than the one they resided in. The region’s economic engines - the ports, military, and tourism – bring drivers to the region who do not know the location of frequently flooded roads. Therefore, the ability to deliver this data directly to drivers through a navigation app is critical to help these drivers get real-time data without having to sign up for alerts.