Abstract:
Road Construction projects in Ethiopia are often undertaken by the government and
reducing the government costs by improving life cycle economy from pavement type is
important to advance sustainable development. The economic impacts of road industry in
Ethiopia have challenged the prospect of eco-construction and flexible road pavements are
widely used despite some doubts regarding their economics under different conditions.
To assist ERA in rendering better-informed decisions for the type of pavement choices, the
major research objective was to analyze the economic, environmental and social impacts of
the JUCP and Hot-Mix Cut-Back Asphalt pavement alternatives from the perspective of life
cycle cost analysis and life-cycle impact assessment.
The pavements were designed under different traffic conditions and considering different
subgrade classes. According to the output of design parameters the layer types were
determined and also the layer thicknesseswerecalculated.
This research wasanalyzed the sustainability of JUCP and Hot-Mix Cut-Back Asphalt
pavements in the context of Ethiopia, on the basis of ERA Pavement Design Manual Volume
1 & II - 2013 using different methodsfor economic analysis in the perspective of life cycle
cost analysis.Whereas for the social and environmental impact assessment follows life-cycle
impact assessmentwithin the perspective of energy consumption, waste generation and
greenhouse gases emission. These analyses play a great role on the decision-making stages
in selection of pavement types.
The analysis results indicated that JUCP be the more sustainable choice than the selected
HMA pavement alternative as it requires the lower life-cycle cost and has the less
unfavorable impact on environment and social life when compared to the HMA flexible
pavement.
Therefore, the focus of this research to bring a paradigm shift and to strengthen the three
pillars of sustainability (Economy, Social & Environment) are being considered in the
overall cost of the pavement structure rather than just looking at the initial investment cost
during economic feasibility study of road projects under ERA custody.
