Abstract Manager

Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) is an important tool to evaluate the overall long-term economic efficiency between competing alternative investment options. The LCCA can assist transportation agencies and highway officials in their decision-making process to select the type of pavement to implement at a certain location. Only a few studies were found in the literature that incorporate a systematic economic comparison between Segmental Pavements, also known as Interlocking Concrete Pavements (ICP), conventional Asphalt Concrete (AC) and Portland Cement Concrete (PCC) pavements.

It is generally understood that the initial construction costs of ICP are much higher than traditional AC and PCC pavements. However, the maintenance costs of ICP are much lower than AC and PCC. To evaluate a true comparison of these different pavement systems, a 50-year LCCA of ICP, AC and PCC pavements was developed. The evaluation included an analysis of pavement life-cycle strategies, including construction and future maintenance costs.

Comparable pavement designs for ICP, AC, and PPC pavements were developed for a sample project with a local/collector road using two different subgrade strengths. LCC analyses were created for those design scenarios. Unit costs were obtained through a variety of sources, including an ICP survey conducted in 2021/2022, contractors/suppliers, and input from a municipality with a recent ICP project. A sensitivity analysis was performed to investigate the effects of different discount rates and installation costs in the LCCA.

LCCA is one tool to help jurisdictions decide on a project design, however, there are other factors to consider in the decision-making process, such as, traffic, soils, material availability, construction, maintenance, aesthetics, and environment. These factors are also examined in the paper.