Life-Cycle Cost Analysis of Pavement Rehabilitation Alternatives

Life-cycle costs of pavement rehab

Background

Transportation plays a critical economic role and is now the nation’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gas emissions. To reduce the environmental impact of transportation, Departments of Transportation (DOTs) are incorporating cold-recycling technologies such as Full-Depth Reclamation (FDR) as an alternative for pavement rehabilitation. FDR involves pulverizing and reusing materials from distressed pavements, producing a new base mixture. One of the limitations hindering the deployment of FDR is the limited information available on the material properties of these mixtures.Ìý

Research Objective

The primary objective of this research is to analyze the long-term performance and life-cycle costs of FDR compared to more traditional rehabilitation methods used by the Colorado Department of Transportation (i.e. level and overlay or mill and overlay). To achieve this objective, the research plan considers the following sub-objectives:

  • Collect long-term performance data for the CDOT Pavement Management System of FDR sections and adjacent sections which used other rehabilitation methods, as well as economic data related to construction and maintenance of these pavements.Ìý
  • Analyze the long-term performance of reference sections in terms of their roughness, cracking, and rutting, and determine the maintenance needs of the sections throughout their design life.
  • Validate predicted deterioration of mechanistic-empirical models using the data available.Ìý
  • Perform a life-cycle cost analysis and conduct sensitivity analyses based on the reference sections collected.Ìý

Research Methods

As part of this project, the research team organized data from 11 FDR projects constructed throughout Colorado. ÌýThe research team collected data on the design, construction, and actual performance of these sections from the CDOT Pavement Management System as well as pavements adjacent to the FDR sites that have used traditional rehabilitation techniques. This information was then incorporated into a probabilistic life-cycle analysis using Monte Carlo simulations to account for the uncertainty in the model inputs. Outputs related to life-cycle costs, long-term condition, and cost-effectiveness were estimated for both FDR and overlay pavements.

Contributions

The study of reference sections in Colorado found FDR to be a more cost-effective rehabilitation solution than overlays. FDR pavements have significantly lower life-cycle costs than overlay pavements. On average, the life-cycle cost of FDR pavements is $178,243/ln-mi less expensive than overlay pavements, resulting in a potential cost saving of 30%. ÌýFDR pavements also have a better long-term performance than overlays. Over the 10 years analysis, FDR pavements have an average roughness, measured in terms of the International Roughness Index (IRI) of 104 in/mi, compared to 124 in/mi for overlays.Ìý

This study resulted in the following publications:

  • Crayton, L.; Schmidt, J.;ÌýTorres-Machi, C.Ìý(2025) Does pavement recycling compromise long-term performance? A comparative analysis of Full Depth Reclamation and mill and overlay.ÌýTransportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board,Ìý2679(9), 466-480 DOI: 10.1177/03611981251338706
  • Torres-Machi, C.; Evers, E.; Schmidt, J.; Crayton, A. (2024) Pavement Rehabilitation Life-Cycle Cost Analysis. Colorado Department of Transportation, Report No. CDOT-2024-07.

Funding

Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT): 2021-2024.
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IRI Members in the Research Team