Development and Application of a Roadway/Roadside Life-Cycle Assessment Software for the Illinois Tollway
Conference Paper
Overview
Overview
abstract
A roadway/roadside life-cycle assessment (LCA) software is being developed for the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority to assess the environmental sustainability of their network. This paper gives an overview of the software and LCA methodology used, including scope, system boundaries, inventory database, and the software architecture. The rrLCA 1.0 software is the first integrated tool capable of analyzing multiple elements of the roadway (i.e., drainage, landscape, lighting, pavement, and structures) through its entire life-cycle (i.e., materials and construction, maintenance and rehabilitation, use, and end-of-life). The software is based on pay items, allowing the consideration of a variety of construction activities. Five pavement projects were analyzed, including resurfacing, widening/reconstruction, and new construction contracts. Overall, it was found that the top pay items contributing to the environmental impacts were related to initial pavement construction and rehabilitation overlay activities. In addition, the new construction and reconstruction projects assessed had similar initial construction contributions to the life cycle. The effect of asphalt binder feedstock and calcination was apparent when observing relative differences between predominantly asphalt and Portland cement concrete projects. The life-cycle stage with the greatest environmental impact was the use phase, which contributed 68%92% of the total global warming potential and 56%78% of the total primary energy, influenced mainly by traffic volumes and growth. While a comprehensive LCA software such as rrLCA 1.0 can effectively assess the environmental footprint of a road system, it is clear that each project has unique characteristics and parameters that will affect its impact on the environment.
