Investigating life cycle cost analysis to identify a sustainable pavement maintenance and rehabilitation strategy: A case study on Ontario highways

Pavement maintenance and rehabilitation (M&R) are the most critical and expensive components of infrastructure asset management. Increasing traffic load, climate change, and resource limitations for road maintenance accelerate pavement deterioration and eventually increase the need for future maintenance. Consequently, pavement management programs are becoming increasingly complex. The complexities are attributed to the realistic prediction of pavement service life. As such, identification of associated sustainable M&R treatments is complicated in pavement management systems (PMS). The objective of this study is aimed at identifying sustainable M&R treatments by predicting service life in a realistic way and investigating life cycle cost analysis (LCCA). At first, the service life of pavement and the distresses are predicted by considering all variables (traffic, climate, materials' properties) affecting pavement with the application of the mechanistic-empirical approach. From the predicted distresses, the overall condition of the pavement and deterioration pattern is assessed by regression analysis. Finally, a LCCA is carried out for a period of forty years for alternate resurfacing options. Comparison of net present worth (NPW) of the alternative treatment options reveals that the resurfacing of pavement with dense friction course (DFC) and hot laid-1 (HL1) are more cost-effective than other alternative options.