A sustainable road construction material for low volume roads

Abstract

The need of spending highlllq)linvestments more efficientlY is greater than ever before, due to escalation of prices of the conventional paving materials (asphalt, concrete).Hence, the road designers are in the verg,eof using alternative materials for the road construction iuhich brings sustainable living conditions. Thus, focus has been on "Concrete Block Paving (CBP)", a road construction methodology lvhich is based on ancient road construction technology '3'tone Paving". In general, the applications of CBP are categorized according to the traffic condition as non-traffic, light traffic, medium traffic and hea1!Y& very hea1!Ytraffic. The results of the stu4J indicate that the life rycfe cost of CBP is lower than the other paving materials although the initial construction cost is slightlY high. When the peiformance of the three types ofpaving materials are evaluated, in addition to the 10111 life rycfe cost, the ability of accommodating and maintaining utility services, thermal comfort, aesthetic appearance and environmentallYfriendlY behaviour can be highlighted as the kry advantages of CBP.