Strategy for reducing carbon dioxide emissions from maintenance and rehabilitation of highway pavement

The operation and maintenance management environment of the national highway agency is expected to be further aggravated by increases in maintenance and rehabilitation costs and environmental costs due to aging road facilities. It is imperative to find a way to reduce life-cycle costs (LCC) and environmental costs (EC) associated with carbon dioxide emissions in road construction. A case study was conducted to select the maintenance and rehabilitation (M&R) scenario with the lowest cost by taking into account carbon dioxide emissions. This was done using a hybrid of LCC analysis (LCCA) and life-cycle assessment (LCA) methods with three representative M&R scenarios: repetitive patching works, single milling and overlay works, and combined works, respectively. The case study analysis indicates that the most economical scenario according to the LCC is scenario 1, but when considering the EC directly linked to carbon dioxide emissions, scenario 2 is the most economical choice for the national highway agency at a carbon trading price of 42.27 USD/ton and above. This case study is the first international research effort linking long-term pavement performance and carbon dioxide emissions to provide a decision making framework for the most carbon-efficient M&R strategy for roads. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.