Evaluating the effects of climate change on road maintenance intervention strategies and Life-Cycle Costs. (December 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Qiao, Yaning; Dawson, Andrew R.; Parry, Tony; Flintsch, Gerardo W.
• Is Part Of: Transportation research. Volume 41(2015)
• Page Start: 492
• Page End: 503
• Publication Date: 2015-12
• Subjects: Flexible pavement -- Performance modeling -- Maintenance effect -- Maintenance optimization -- Life-Cycle Cost -- Climate change; Transportation -- Research -- Periodicals; Transportation -- Environmental aspects -- Periodicals; 354.76
• DOI: 10.1016/j.trd.2015.09.019
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1361-9209

Abstract

Highlights: A framework to assess the impact of climate change on road pavements was developed. Climate change may significantly reduce pavements' service life. Changes in maintenance interventions may be needed to achieve minimum life cycle costs under future climate. Climate change may increase the life cycle cost of a road. Using the developed framework, problems discussed in highlights 2–4 can be assessed and quantified. Abstract: Climate change has the potential to impact long-term road pavement performance. Consequently, to maintain pavements within the same ranges of serviceability as before, current pavement maintenance strategies need to be re-assessed and, if necessary, changed. Changes in maintenance may lead to different agency costs and user costs as a consequence. This paper commences by defining an assessment procedure, showing how maintenance intervention strategies and Life-Cycle Costs (LCC) may be affected by future climate. A typical Virginia flexible pavement structure and anticipated climate change was used as an example. This example is believed to be representative for a great number of localities in the United States. A method using historical climatic data and climate change projections to predict pavement performance using Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG) under current or future climate was introduced. Based on pavement performance prediction, maintenance interventions were planned and optimized. The maintenance effects of three treatments (thin overlay, thin overlay with an intermediate layer, and mill & fill) were considered. A Life-Cycle Cost analysis is reported that used binary non-linear programming to minimize the costs (either agency costs or total costs) by optimizing intervention strategies in terms of type and application time. By these means, the differences in maintenance planning and LCC under current and future climate can be derived. It was found, that for this simplified case study, pavement maintenance and LCC may be affected by climate change Optimized maintenance may improve resilience to climate change in terms of intervention strategy and LCC, compared to responsive maintenance.