Flooded roads and subways, deformed railroad tracks, weakened bridges and eroding pipeline supports. Sounds like a scene from one of those uber-dramatic World-Without-Humans shows that seem to debut every week on the tube these days.

Actually, those predictions come from a National Research Council report released today that says we should be prepared for some serious transportation infrastructure problems thanks to climate change. The report warns that expected sea-level rises of between 7 and 23 inches this century could wreak havoc on road, pipelines and airports in coastal areas of the U.S.

The NRC, which is part of the National Academy of Sciences, says that the current transportation system was built using historical temperature and precipitation data that -- thanks to climate extremes -- are becoming unreliable. Engineers and planners need to consider the effects of climate change on everything from bridges to drainage systems.

NRC officials said that major transportation hubs like New York City's LaGuardia Airport, are in low-laying coastal zones that vulnerable to flooding from rising seas. In addition, More rainstorms will result in delayed air and ground traffic, flooded tunnels and railways, and eroding road, bridge and pipeline supports. Conversely, more heat waves means requiring load limits at hot-weather or high-altitude airports, as well as thermal expansion of bridge joints and rail track deformities.

But hey, it's not all bad news. The report notes that marine transportation is about to get a lot easier once all that pesky ice has melted in the Arctic Ocean.