The Sustainability of Jointed Unreinforced Concrete Pavements in Comparison to Hot-Mix Cut-Back Asphalt Pavements in the Context of Ethiopia

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.