Decision Support Framework for Project-Level Pavement Maintenance and Rehabilitation through Integrating Life Cycle Cost Analysis and Life Cycle Assessment

Abstract

Over the last decade, transportation asset management practices have been increasingly enhanced through incorporation of sustainability considerations. Organizational- and network-level guidelines have been developed to assist transportation agencies in sustainability-driven highway network prioritization, but quantifying life cycle economic, social, and environmental impacts of highway treatment activities and projects using consistent, reliable data for informed project-level decision-making remains a challenge. This paper proposes a decision support framework to identify major life cycle economic, social, and environmental impacts of highway treatment activities and projects through integrating life cycle assessment (LCA) and life cycle cost analysis, allowing practitioners to determine the most appropriate project alternatives. Databases (e.g., RSMeans) and simulation models (e.g., Athena Pavement LCA and MOtor Vehicle Emission Simulator) were used to evaluate life cycle impacts from both the agency and user perspectives. Project alternatives using various sustainable/innovative techniques, including warm mix asphalt overlay, cold in-place recycling, full depth reclamation, intelligent compaction, and precast concrete pavement systems, were analyzed. Using the results of life cycle impacts following this framework, practitioners can better understand the implications of project-level decisions, perform what-if analysis to investigate trade-offs among alternatives, and achieve sustainability-related agency goals and objectives.