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Life Cycle Analysis of Road Construction and Use

Author

Listed:
  • Giampiero Trunzo

    (Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, Sapienza University of Rome, 00184 Rome, Italy)

  • Laura Moretti

    (Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, Sapienza University of Rome, 00184 Rome, Italy)

  • Antonio D’Andrea

    (Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, Sapienza University of Rome, 00184 Rome, Italy)

Abstract

Both the construction and use of roads have a range of environmental impacts; therefore, it is important to assess the sources of their burdens to adopt correct mitigation policies. Life cycle analysis (LCA) is a useful method to obtain demonstrable, accurate and non-misleading information for decision-making experts. The study presents a “cradle to gate with options” LCA of a provincial road during 60 year-service life. Input data derive from the bill of quantity of the project and their impacts have been evaluated according to the European standard EN 15804. The study considers the impacts of the construction and maintenance stages, lighting, and use of the vehicles on the built road. The results obtained from a SimaPro model highlight that the almost half of impacts took place during the construction stage rather than the use stage. Therefore, the adoption of environmentally friendly road planning procedures, the use of low-impact procedures in the production of materials, and the use of secondary raw materials could have the largest potential for reducing environmental impacts.

Suggested Citation

  • Giampiero Trunzo & Laura Moretti & Antonio D’Andrea, 2019. "Life Cycle Analysis of Road Construction and Use," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-13, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:2:p:377-:d:197280
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mohamed Marzouk & Eslam Mohammed Abdelkader & Mohamed El-zayat & Ahmed Aboushady, 2017. "Assessing Environmental Impact Indicators in Road Construction Projects in Developing Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(5), pages 1-21, May.
    2. Laura Moretti & Vittorio Mandrone & Antonio D’Andrea & Silvia Caro, 2017. "Comparative “from Cradle to Gate” Life Cycle Assessments of Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) Materials," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(3), pages 1-16, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. Ling Xu & Yinfei Du & Giuseppe Loprencipe & Laura Moretti, 2023. "Rheological and Fatigue Characteristics of Asphalt Mastics and Mixtures Containing Municipal Solid Waste Incineration (MSWI) Residues," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-18, May.
    2. Mayara S. Siverio Lima & Mohsen Hajibabaei & Sina Hesarkazzazi & Robert Sitzenfrei & Alexander Buttgereit & Cesar Queiroz & Viktors Haritonovs & Florian Gschösser, 2021. "Determining the Environmental Potentials of Urban Pavements by Applying the Cradle-to-Cradle LCA Approach for a Road Network of a Midscale German City," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-14, November.
    3. Gislaine Luvizão & Glicério Trichês, 2023. "Case Study on Life Cycle Assessment Applied to Road Restoration Methods," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-26, April.
    4. Husnain Arshad & Muhammad Jamaluddin Thaheem & Beenish Bakhtawar & Asheem Shrestha, 2021. "Evaluation of Road Infrastructure Projects: A Life Cycle Sustainability-Based Decision-Making Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-26, March.
    5. ZhiWu Zhou & Julián Alcalá & Víctor Yepes, 2020. "Environmental, Economic and Social Impact Assessment: Study of Bridges in China’s Five Major Economic Regions," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(1), pages 1-33, December.
    6. Eduardo Cejuela & Vicente Negro & Jose María del Campo, 2020. "Evaluation and Optimization of the Life Cycle in Maritime Works," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-20, June.
    7. Hrvoje Grofelnik & Nataša Kovačić, 2023. "Factors Influencing the Carbon Footprint of Major Road Infrastructure—A Case Study of the Učka Tunnel," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-14, March.
    8. Marianela Espinoza & Noelia Campos & Rebekah Yang & Hasan Ozer & José P. Aguiar-Moya & Alejandra Baldi & Luis G. Loría-Salazar & Imad L. Al-Qadi, 2019. "Carbon Footprint Estimation in Road Construction: La Abundancia–Florencia Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-13, April.

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