Highway construction utilizes a large amount of material resources and there is a recognized need to implement sustainable, environmentally responsible solutions as we rebuild and reconstruct our aging infrastructure. While great strides have been made in the use of recycled materials and energy saving materials, there is a need to quantify the available solutions not only in terms of economic lifecycle cost analysis (LCCA), but also environmental impacts from raw materials extraction/production to reuse/disposal.

Nationally and internationally, significant progress has been made during the last decade in identifying and quantifying sustainability factors (lifecycle assessment (LCA)) by many different sources, such as the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14040:2006; U.S. Lifecycle Inventory (LCI) Database from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (www.nrel.gov/lci/); and BASF (Badische Anilin- und Soda-Fabrik) Eco-Efficiency Analysis (www.basf.com/group/corporate/en/sustainability/eco-efficiency-analysis/index). Several tools have been developed in this endeavor, such as the Building for Environmental and Economic Sustainability (BEES) software (developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)), Pavement Lifecycle Assessment Tool for Environmental and Economic Effects (PaLATE), GaBi software (www.gabi-software.com/) and SimaPro software (www.pre.nl/simapro). Except for PaLATE, most of the tools are generic. There are also qualitative rating systems, such as Greenroads (www.greenroads.us) and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) (www.usgbc.org).

However, these efforts have seen rare or limited consideration in the pavement type selection process. Some of the difficulties are the lack of exposure among State highway agency (SHA) pavement engineers in this area, lack of tools that incorporate LCCA and LCA, and challenges in objectively considering sustainability factors that are generally expressed in terms of energy efficiency, global warming potential, or carbon dioxide equivalents. There is clearly a need to adopt and innovate methods and tools to objectively assess environmental effects in addition to economical costs in identifying sustainable, environmentally responsible solutions in the pavement type selection process that can easily be utilized by SHA pavement engineers.

Goals

This activity will review and capitalize from the existing body of knowledge to adopt and innovate methods and tools to assess environmental effects in addition to economical cost in identifying sustainable, environmentally responsible solutions during the pavement type selection process. This project will also incorporate them in RealCost LCCA software so both the economical and environmental considerations can be evaluated simultaneously and together in the decisionmaking process.

• DTFH61-11-D-01009-T11001

• Infrastructure

• FY 2002-2022 / Infrastructure / Pavements and Materials

Updated RealCost software incorporating the lifecycle assessment (LCA) process for pavements. [Source: FHWA, PMSS Database (2013)]