Determining the Environmental Potentials of Urban Pavements by Applying the Cradle-to-Cradle LCA Approach for a Road Network of a Midscale German City

Mayara S. Siverio Lima, Mohsen Hajibabaei, Sina Hesarkazzazi, Robert Sitzenfrei, Alexander Buttgereit, Cesar Queiroz, Viktors Haritonovs and Florian Gschösser
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Mayara S. Siverio Lima: Department of Structural Engineering and Material Sciences, University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
Mohsen Hajibabaei: Department of Infrastructure Engineering, University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
Sina Hesarkazzazi: Department of Infrastructure Engineering, University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
Robert Sitzenfrei: Department of Infrastructure Engineering, University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
Alexander Buttgereit: Department of Mobility and Civil Engineering of Münster, 48155 Münster, Germany
Cesar Queiroz: The World Bank, Washington, DC 20433, USA
Viktors Haritonovs: Department of Roads and Bridges, Riga Technical University, LV-1658 Riga, Latvia
Florian Gschösser: Department of Structural Engineering and Material Sciences, University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 22, 1-14

Abstract: This study used a cradle-to-cradle Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach to evaluate the environmental potentials of urban pavements. For this purpose, the urban road network of the City of Münster (Germany) was selected as the case study, and comprehensive data for several phases were collected. The entire road network is composed of flexible pavements designed according to specific traffic loads and consists of main roads (MRs), main access roads (MARs), and residential roads (RSDTs). Asphalt materials, pavement structures, and maintenance strategies are predefined for each type of road and are referred to as “traditional” herein. Some pavement structures have two possible maintenance strategies, denoted by “A” and “B”, with distinguished periods of intervention. To evaluate the impact of using recycled materials, we considered alternative pavement structures composed of asphalt materials containing a greater amount of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP). The study was carried out considering analysis periods of 20, 50, 80, and 100 years and using two indicators: non-renewable cumulative energy demand (nr-CED) and global warming potential (GWP). The results show that the use of higher amounts of RAP can mitigate negative environmental impacts and that certain structures and maintenance strategies potentially enhance the environmental performance of road pavements. This article suggests initiatives that will facilitate the decision-making process of city administrators to achieve more sustainable road pavement constructions and provides an essential dataset inventory to support future environmental assessment studies, particularly for European cities.

Keywords: urban pavements; asphalt mixtures; environmental impacts; sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:22:p:12487-:d:677410

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