Abstract Manager

With the Yukon warming more than twice as fast as the rest of Canada, the impacts of climate change on transportation infrastructure are an urgent concern. The Yukon Highways Climate Risk Assessment and Action Plan was developed to help the Government of Yukon (YG) address these challenges and make the most of opportunities to enhance the resilience of the territory’s highway network. This project aims to make Yukon’s highways safer, stronger, and more reliable, thereby protecting communities, facilitating safe mobility, and ensuring connectivity across the region.

The project aligns closely with Yukon’s ongoing commitments to taking action on climate change:

• 2019: YG declared a climate emergency, emphasizing the urgent need for climate action.
• 2020: The release of Our Clean Future, Yukon’s climate strategy, outlined action item T25, which directed the Department of Highways and Public Works (HPW) to conduct a climate change study of the highway network.
• 2024: The completion of the Yukon Highways Climate Risk Assessment and Action Plan marked a critical milestone in advancing the territorial government’s climate adaptation goals.

Specific objectives that were achieved through the project included:

• Designing a robust methodological approach to characterize the uncertainty of climate change impacts on highway infrastructure – including 3,700 km of roadways, 130 bridge structures and 7,100 drainage culverts.
• Integrating existing research and best practices for adapting highway infrastructure to the effects of climate change.
• Characterizing 7 geohazards (thermokarst, aufeis, flooding, fluvial processes, landslides, avalanches, wildfire) and preparing associated mapping for 15 highway corridors.
• Conducting a high-level climate risk assessment and developing a comprehensive action plan to mitigate the highest-priority risks.
• Informing future policy directions, budget priorities, and engineering standards to better support resilient road infrastructure design and maintenance.

This project demonstrates the Government of Yukon’s commitment to proactive climate resilience, helping to ensure that its highway infrastructure can withstand and adapt to the evolving impacts of climate change. The study identified and assessed risks based on exposure, likelihood, and consequence, and developed and prioritized adaptation measures for moderate, high, and extreme risks across both baseline and future (2050s) time horizons.

The project’s Action Plan categorized 16 overarching adaptation measures into 5 implementation categories (governance, further study, monitoring, operations and maintenance, capital works), with staging based on priority, risk reduction and barriers. Adaptation pathways were developed to allow for flexibility, ensuring resilience strategies align with evolving conditions and infrastructure goals.