Quantifying pavement sustainability in project and network level perspectives

The general objective of the paper is to summarize some of the key findings from a study that the Centre for Pavement and Transportation Technology at the University of Waterloo has with the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO). The main goal of the study is to develop a practical framework to quantify sustainable pavement engineering practices that are currently portrayed in Ontario highway projects. Both network and project level applications are considered in this framework. In essence, the paper explores how sustainability can influence in the project decision making or in maintenance and rehabilitation planning activities. The basis of the quantification is the three fundamental grounds of sustainability: economic, society, and environment. The assessment of sustainability would involve primarily examining life cycle cost, green pavement rating scores, and pavement service life of an alternative. This paper will explore the development of the pavement sustainability quantification and also how the quantification connects to the daily practices by the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario. In short, quantifying pavement sustainability is a complementary activity to MTO daily pavement engineering work. Therefore, such quantification should be simple to understand and flexible, yet reflect the sustainable elements of an alternative in a fair and sensitive manner.