Benchmarking Sustainable Mechanistic-Empirical Based Pavement Design Alternatives Using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA)

The selection of alternative pavement designs is not an exact science but one in which the highway engineer uses judgment to balance various factors. Integrating these factors into the selection process is challenging. In this paper, Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), a methodology based on linear programming, is used to measure the efficiency of alternative designs. Eight alternative designs, including both rigid and flexible pavements, for the proposed I-49 Bella Vista bypass in Arkansas, are generated following the Mechanistic- Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG). The assessment of the overall impacts of these designs on the environment during road construction and maintenance operations are conducted using the Pavement Life-cycle Assessment Tool for Environmental and Economic Effects (PaLATE). Economic output in terms of Net Present Value (NPV) and environmental outputs including energy consumption and gaseous emissions during initial construction and pavement maintenance are quantified and used as the inputs and outputs for the DEA process, from which the efficiency of each alternative is determined and therefore the most sustainable design is benchmarked. The analysis shows that the conventional deep strength flexible pavement design using Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement materials as the base, and rigid pavements designs using cement treated base or granular base are the most efficient among the eight designs for this project. It is anticipated that the proposed framework can assist highway agencies in achieving sustainable pavement designs.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/9789561412309
• Supplemental Notes:
  • The local host for the conference is Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile; the international host is the Transportation Research Board of the National Research Council, USA.
• Corporate Authors:

  Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile

  College of Engineering
  Avenida Vicuna Mackenna 4860, Macul
  Santiago,   Chile 
• Authors:
  • Li, Qiang (Joshua)
  • Xiao, Danny X
  • McNeil, Sue
  • Wang, Kelvin
• Conference:
  • Eighth International Conference on Managing Pavement Assets
  • Location: Santiago , Chile
  • Date: 2011-11-15 to 2011-11-19
• Publication Date: 2011

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; Maps; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 16p
• Monograph Title: 8th International Conference on Managing Pavement Assets, November 15-19, 2011, Santiago, Chile: "Fulfilling the Social, Economic and Environmental Responsibility for Sustainable, Well Managed, Better Roads"

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Environmental impacts; Flexible pavements; Life cycle analysis; Pavement design; Rigid pavements; Sustainable development
• Identifier Terms: Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide
• Uncontrolled Terms: Data envelopment analysis; Net present value
• Subject Areas: Design; Highways; Pavements; I22: Design of Pavements, Railways and Guideways;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01366564
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 9789561412309
• Report/Paper Numbers: ICMPA143
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Mar 29 2012 11:30AM