LIFE-CYCLE COST ANALYSIS OF RECLAIMED ASPHALT PAVEMENT FOR SUSTAINABLE ROAD REHABILITATION

Abstract

The construction of pavements requires a significant amount of non-renewable materials and energy. Recycling of asphalt pavements is a valuable approach for technical, economic and environmental reasons. The use of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) is being favoured over virgin materials due to increasing cost of asphalt, the scarcity of quality aggregates and the pressing need to preserve the environment. This paper present a life cycle cost analysis of recycled pavement material for sustainable road rehabilitation on Jabulani Selepe road in Bethal, Mpumalanga Province of South Africa.  Long term cost effects of recycled materials was determined in pavement design; life-cycle cost analysis (LCCA) was carried out on recycled materials, alternative recycling materials and conventional method. The present worth of cost (PWOC) for recycling and conventional method was used to determine the most viable option for construction and maintenance. Agency cost, initial rehabilitation, maintenance, future and salvage cost while the users cost which include construction delays, accident cost, time and vehicle operating cost was done. The result showed that LCCA identifies recycled RAP as the lowest cost pavement alternative. The PWOC for RAP and alternative recycling material was 50.90% and 41.48% respectively when compared with conventional method. Thus, using large amount of RAP could turn these asphalt mixes into good alternative to hot mix asphalt in environmental terms and cost-effective means to road rehabilitation than that of a conventional project.