Overview
The Cape Cod Commission is working with all 15 Cape towns, including the Town of Harwich, to examine vulnerabilities in the roadway network and identify solutions. With funding support from the Massachusetts Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) program, the Commission has contracted with the Woods Hole Group (WHG) to conduct a vulnerability assessment of roadway segments, bridges, and culverts due to flooding from the combined effects of sea level rise and storm surge.
WHG will employ the state-of-the-art Massachusetts Coast Flood Risk Model (MC FRM) to identify vulnerable road segments under different sea level rise scenarios and time scales. One output from this work is a projection of the probability and extent of flooding at the present, 2030, 2050, and 2070.

The Low Lying Roads Map Viewer is an interactive tool which allows the user to view the data outputs of the low lying roads analysis in a visual map format. The Map Viewer also allows the user to provide comments directly on the map to register observations about flooding or erosion issues in town.
To use the Map Viewer, click on the link above and navigate around the map, clicking data layers on or off using the Layers tab. To add comments or observations about flooding or erosion, follow the steps below:
- Make sure the "Comment" Layer you want to use is TURNED ON in the Layers TAB
- Choose the Editor button and pick the appropriate issue (Flooding or Erosion)
- Click on the area you would like to comment on
- Fill out the form
- Submit!
High Priority Road Segments
The table below presents a first cut of priority road segments identified through a GIS analysis examining future flood projections together with an assessment of roadway importance and function (roadway “criticality”). The data is the result of an analysis performed by the Woods Hole Group using the Massachusetts Coast Flood Risk Model.