Green Road Approach for the Sustainable Development in India
Road transport is considered to be one of the cost effective and preferred modes oftransport for both freight and passengers. India has an extensive road network of 4.24million km– the second largest in the world (MoRTH, 2005). The National Highways havea total length of 70,934 km and serve as the arterial road network of the country. It isestimated that more than 70 per cent of freight and 85 per cent of passenger traffic in thecountry is being handled by roads. While Highways/ Expressways constitute only about 2% of the length of all roads, rest are state highway, major district road , district roads andrural and other road which is consider as low volume road.Growing public awareness of climate change requires transportation professionals tointegrate green concepts into the transportation planning, design, construction, andoperation processes.Green highways are a relatively new concept although the implementation of technologiesinvolved in green highway design has been encouraged for many years. A green road maynot look like normal road at first glance, but with closer inspection a driver will noticesubtle difference. More plant life grows along the shoulder, and more trees are planted aswildlife buffers and ridding quality. In towns, highways become more aestheticallypleasing, and in rural areas highways become a more natural part of the environment agreen highway can be defined by five broad topics such as Conservation and EcosystemManagement, Water Shed Driven Strong Water Management, Life Cycle Energy andEmissions Reduction, Recycles Reuse And Renewable, Overall Societal Benefits.This paper describes the factor affecting of green road and construction process ofwearing course of pavement through Microsurfacing which reduce the both direct andindirect cost. Microsurfacing is environmental friendly which reduce the greenhouse gasand fuel consummation.
Life-Cycle Cost Analysis of Surface Retexturing with Shotblasting as an Asphalt Pavement Preservation Tool
This study explored the economics of replacing chip sealing and thin hot-mix asphalt overlays for highways with surface retexturing with the same shotblasting technology that is used on airport pavements. This technology can restore both the microtexture and macrotexture on pavements that have skid resistance due to polishing. An economic analysis of a typical highway lane is conducted to determine life-cycle costs of various options for the hypothetical project. The study uses FHWA pavement life-cycle cost methodology and reports the results on a net present value basis to compare each skid restoration alternative. The analysis is conducted on two levels. First, a traditional deterministic life-cycle cost analysis is completed; and second, a stochastic analysis of life-cycle cost follows, using a Monte Carlo simulation. The conclusion is that shot-blasting is an economically viable alternative to traditional methods for restoring lost skid resistance. Shotblasting also allows achievement of the desired engineering objective without consumption of additional asphalt binder or aggregate, thus making it an environmentally sustainable alternative as well.
Developing a design policy to improve pavement surface characteristics
The frictional properties of pavement surfaces play an important role in highway safety. Pavement surfaces must ensure an adequate level of friction at the tire pavement interface to provide safe operation of vehicles. The Maryland State Highway Administration (MDSHA) routinely measures friction on State highways to assist with decision making associated with road maintenance management and to monitor network health against road condition targets detailed in the system preservation report published annually. The MDSHA uses the friction tester to monitor the micro-texture of the pavement aggregate during the service life of the pavement surface. Micro-texture is a measure of the degree of polishing of a road aggregate and is the main factor in determining the peak level of dry and wet friction provided by a pavement surface. Initial analysis of past friction information indicates a relationship between geometry, average annual daily traffic, polish stone value and friction number. The MDSHA is attempting to better understand surface frictional requirements at approach to pedestrian crossing, traffic lights, etc during wet weather and to establish minimum friction levels for different types of roadways based on accident data. This paper describes the MDSHA process in developing a design policy to improve pavement surface friction.