Abstract Manager

In pavement design and management practice, the integration of life cycle assessment (LCA) has become increasingly crucial for facilitating environmental conservation and economic efficiency. However, a very few studies have focused on LCA for asphalt pavements in Canada, creating a significant knowledge gap in understanding region-specific factors. This study conducted a detailed investigation using pavement LCA to quantify the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions arising from various structural conditions of asphalt pavements. A comprehensive pavement structural design matrix consisting of 23 conventional asphalt pavement structures employed in Ontario was evaluated with various lift thicknesses and in-situ resilient modulus for different traffic volume roads. Additionally, the incorporation of a sustainable pavement alternative, reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP), was examined to assess its potential to reduce GHG emissions from an environmental point of view. This study reveals that, within the system boundaries considered in this study, the manufacturing phase was the most significant contributor to total GHG emissions, often exceeding 65%. Also, the sensitivity analysis concludes that the transportation distance of materials moderately influences the GHG emissions arising from asphalt pavement. Moreover, the scenario analysis advocates for incorporating RAP contents in the granular layers of asphalt pavements, with each roadway type achieving around 4,000 kg CO₂ eq. in global warming potential (GWP) reductions on average. Thus, the outcomes of this study set a foundation for future research to analyze and develop sustainable alternatives to pursue the required resilience in asphalt pavement construction.