PAVEMENT MAINTENANCE VERSUS RECONSTRUCTION: LIFE CYCLE COST ANALYSIS OF VARIOUS OPTIONS

This paper presents: an identification of preventative maintenance treatments and their benefits; a description of the life cycle cost analysis process utilized in the study discussed; and comparative results that evaluate the life cycle cost for pavements that receive preventative maintenance applied early on in the life of the pavement compared with those that receive only major rehabilitation/construction strategies. The findings indicate that preventative maintenance at early stages in a pavement's life is cost effective in all of the scenarios studied. The estimated lives and costs used in this study are based on presently available information and engineering judgement and deviations from these values could affect the final conclusions.