Environmental life cycle cost analysis: A review of economic, energy and green house gas emission impacts of asphalt and concrete pavements

Life cycle cost analysis has increasingly become an integral part of most decision-making processes for large infrastructure projects throughout the world. The evaluation of asphalt and concrete pavements has always been based on the lowest cost alternative either in terms of initial costs or life cycle costs. However, these costs do not account for any potential impact such alternatives may have on the environment. The objective of this report is to evaluate the various potential impacts asphalt and concrete pavements have on the environment. This analysis is not a complete Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of asphalt and concrete pavements. The evaluation is considered a scoped LCA, which includes the detailed analysis of economic, energy and GHG emission values related to pavement construction.