Evaluation of Sustainable Pavement Construction and Maintenance Using Multi-Recycled RAP Mixtures

Abstract

The growing demand for sustainable solutions has led to an increasing number of stakeholders committed to integrating sustainability principles into pavement management. To assess the environmental impact of various solutions, with innovative materials and techniques, stakeholders have turned to tools and methodologies such as Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), which has proven to be an effective approach. This paper focuses on the LCA of multi-recycled road pavements using bituminous mixtures with high proportions of Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP). To support the principles of a circular economy, a comparative analysis was conducted on a road pavement section, considering different scenarios that combine production, construction, and rehabilitation activities with different RAP incorporation rates: 0% (reference), 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%. The LCA results are presented across four damage categories: human health, ecosystem quality, climate change, and resource depletion. Findings indicate that both recycled and multi-recycled bituminous mixtures offer significant environmental benefits compared to solutions relying solely on virgin materials, reinforcing a sustainable approach. Moreover, the benefits increase with the RAP content, resulting in an average reduction of 19%, 23%, 31%, and 33% across all impact categories for RAP rates of 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%, respectively