Life cycle cost analysis of asphalt and concrete pavements

• Main Author: Asta Guciute Scheving 1982-
• Other Authors: Háskólinn í Reykjavík
• Format: Master Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: 2011
• Subjects: Kostnaðargreining; Vegagerð; Byggingarverkfræði; Meistaraprófsritgerðir; Tækni- og verkfræðideild; Cost control; Roads; Civil engineering; School of Science and Engineering; Iceland; Reykjavík
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1946/7684

This report describes a life cycle cost analysis (LCCA) for road pavements and evaluates its impact on pavement type choice. Working from literature, historical data and interviews, the LCCA technique is described and an overview of the road and street system in Iceland is presented. The LCCA methodology developed here is tested on a hypothetical project (road section in Reykjavík). The purpose of this project is to develop a calculation model based on LCCA methodology. LCCA is tested for six traffic groups: 2.500, 5.000, 7.500, 10.000, 12.500, and 15.000 veh/day/lane. For each traffic group, two scenarios are built: one with asphalt pavement and one with concrete pavement. An analysis period of 40 years was chosen for this project: thus the cost for asphalt and concrete pavements are evaluated for this analysis period. Construction, rehabilitation and user costs are included in the model. A 6% discount rate is used for the base case scenario, and the allowed rut depth is 3.5 cm. As was to be expected, a flexible pavement is more suitable for lower volumes of traffic, and with increased traffic, concrete pavements are more competitive. Test results show that when traffic is around 14000 veh/day/lane, asphalt and concrete are competitive. It is very surprising how little the difference actually is between asphalt and concrete pavements if we take into account the cost over the whole design period. Results could be slightly different if a different discount rate were to be used or the unit price were to fluctuate. Too low a rate of return could favour a more expensive project, which could thus shift from being unprofitable to profitable. Unit price changes have the same effect. Ritgerð þessi lýsir vistferilskostnaðargreiningu á bundnu slitlagi fyrir vegi og metur áhrif slíkrar greiningar á slitlagsval. Í ritgerðinni er stuðst við fræðirit, söguleg gögn sem og viðtöl. Aðferðafræðin við vistferilskostnaðargreiningu er útlistuð og gefið yfirlit yfir vega- og gatnakerfið hér á landi. Vistferilskostnaðargreiningu er ...