Optimal Cracking Threshold Resurfacing Policies in Asphalt Pavement Management to Minimize Costs and Emissions

There is an increasing need for the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions within pavement management decision-making. Pavement maintenance activities, such as resurfacing, account for millions of tons of the GHG emissions annually in the United States. Optimizing pavement resurfacing activities allows for the potential to reduce the carbon footprint of pavement maintenance. A framework is proposed for estimating the relationship between GHG emissions from pavement resurfacing activities and pavement cracking-threshold policies, where cracking is the trigger distress. Cracking threshold is the maximum percentage cracking level a pavement is allowed to reach before an asphalt overlay is applied. The data set used in the case study was obtained from the Washington State Department of Transportation. The results show that for a planning horizon of 10 years, the optimal cracking thresholds for minimizing costs and GHG emissions are very close to each other.