Probabilistic Life-Cycle Assessment as Network-Level Evaluation Tool for Use and Maintenance Phases of Pavements

Abstract

Agencies that manage pavement networks have a role in mitigating the factors affecting global climate change by managing their networks in such a way that these factors are minimized. Although much research is still required to quantify the climate change impact of many variables relating to pavements, the impact of pavement condition on vehicle fuel consumption has been clearly demonstrated in several research projects. In the light of extensive research that shows pavement characteristics as having a significant impact on vehicle fuel consumption, it can be shown that maintaining a network of pavements to minimize roughness can limit the energy consumption of vehicles traveling along the pavement network. The objective of this study was to demonstrate a method by which transportation agencies could measure the impact of their management decisions on reducing the energy consumption of their networks. The use of a life-cycle assessment (LCA) to quantify energy consumption probabilistically for a given set of expected maintenance actions defined at the network level is demonstrated. This study shows how the results of the LCA can be used to evaluate the energy consumption attributed to the pavement network over a defined time frame.