the structural and functional requirements for a specified life. The focus for an agency should be on the initial cost of constructing the pavement and the environmental costs from the “cradle to construction” phases of LCA. While quantifying environmental costs or savings may include environmental product declarations and other parameters, the focus is on the initial stage of a pavement’s life. Fortunately, FHWA and others are working on defining those processes defensibly. By focusing on the cradle-to-constructed phase for equivalently designed pavement structures, an agency can confidently discern both the economic and environmental costs of various options using established methods. LCCA and LCA are tools, but their effectiveness and impact are asset-specific. As the number of assets an agency maintains increases, the challenge of using LCCA and LCA for a single asset increases. For pavement, the key must be designing and selecting a structure at the lowest economic and environmental cost to the agency. The structure must meet the owner’s structural and functional criteria. Then, over the life of the pavement, the maintenance and rehabilitation activities and cycles by the agency will impact the true cost. Contractors do not have an impact on these decisions. Funding availability and other factors will determine what is done and when. Traffic and maintenance of traffic impacts the speed of future maintenance/repairs. Industry must provide their services and materials with quality at the best value. Properly evaluating and implementing innovations will impact a pavement’s economic and environmental costs. The key to real LCCA and LCA is selecting the best-value pavement at the point of initial construction, and then making the future decisions required to best serve the public. Industry must provide their services and materials with quality at the best value. Properly evaluating and implementing innovations will impact a pavement’s economic and environmental costs. The key to real LCCA and LCA is selecting the best-value pavement at the point of initial construction, and then making the future decisions required to best serve the public. MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE: UNDERSTANDING LCCA AND LCA VAASPHALT.ORG 17
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