Pavement Life Cycle Assessment Workshop: Discussion Summary and Guidelines

Although there have been several life cycle assessment (LCA) studies on the subject of pavement, nearly all of them have focused on pavement type selection (asphalt or concrete) for new pavements for a narrow range of conditions, and the results have offered conflicting answers to questions about the resulting environmental impacts. This inconsistency is due to the lack of consistent LCA practice and to use of different data sources. Among the specific recurring problems found in LCA are unrepresentative functional units and analysis periods, a lack of transparency in impact allocation of the bitumen-refining process, and incomplete consideration of the full life cycle. To address these issues work has been undertaken to develop recommended common practices for conducting LCA for pavements. The first-stage research product intended for pavement LCA practitioners is the UCPRC Pavement LCA Guideline, which includes a highlevel LCA framework for pavements, as well as some recommended data and models that have been used in California and elsewhere in the U.S. In May 2010, a workshop was held in Davis, California, to discuss the first draft of this guideline, and to answer some key questions regarding LCA practice and the application of the results. This technical memorandum contains a summary of the workshop discussions and the final draft Guideline based on the discussions.

• Record URL:
  http://www.ucprc.ucdavis.edu/PDF/UCPRC-TM-2010-03.pdf
• Record URL:
  https://dot.ca.gov/-/media/dot-media/programs/research-innovation-system-information/documents/f0016624-2010-05-task-1897-pavement.pdf
• Record URL:
  https://merritt.cdlib.org/api/presign-file/ark%253A%252F13030%252Fm5zw1mmx/3/producer%252FCA11-1897.pdf
• 
• Summary URL:
  http://www.its.ucdavis.edu/?page_id=10063&pub_id=1612
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/oclc/811578104
• Corporate Authors:

  California Department of Transportation

  Office of Pavement Preservation, Division of Maintenance
  1120 N Street, MS-5
  Sacramento, CA  United States  95814

  University of California, Davis

  Pavement Research Center, One Shields Avenue
  Davis, CA  United States  95616

  University of California, Berkeley

  Institute of Transportation Studies, Pavement Research Center
  1353 South 46th Street
  Richmond, CA  United States  94804
• Authors:
  • Harvey, J
  • Kendall, A
  • Lee, I -S
  • Santero, Nicholas
  • Van Dam, T
  • Wang, Ting
• Publication Date: 2010-5

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Appendices; Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 48p
• Serial:
  • University of California Pavement Research Center Technical Memorandum

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Data quality; Life cycle analysis; Pavement design; Standards
• Subject Areas: Environment; Highways; Pavements; I15: Environment; I22: Design of Pavements, Railways and Guideways;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01448508
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: UC Berkeley Transportation Library
• Report/Paper Numbers: UCPRC-TM-2010-03, CA129999A
• Files: CALTRANS, TRIS, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Oct 2 2012 9:13AM