LIFE CYCLE COST ANALYSIS
Life-cycle cost analysis (LCCA) is a process for evaluating the total economic
worth of a useable project by analyzing initial costs and discounted future
costs. For pavements, these costs include initial construction, maintenance,
user costs, reconstruction, rehabilitation, restoration, resurfacing, and salvage
value. LCCA examines the economic benets of competing alternatives and
provides a means that agencies can use to make the most cost-effective
pavement decision.
Why do it?
LCCA is a common sense, businesslike approach to building, maintaining, and
modernizing roads. It provides a formalized process for evaluating pavement
materials that is typically open and transparent and eliminates much of the
arbitrary decision making process. Agencies using LCCA have saved taxpayers
countless dollars by choosing the most cost-effective long-term pavement. Both
asphalt and concrete industries have embraced LCCA because it is a more
prudent method for making decisions about durable public assets.
When comparing construction alternatives, LCCA provides a level playing
eld. Moreover, LCCA is based on a consistent methodology applied across
all products and at all stages of their production, transport, energy use,
maintenance, and disposal or recycling at end of life.
Too often, roadway agencies place a high premium on initial costs and fail to
recognize the long-term consequence of their action. A pavement is a long-term
investment and its success or failure should be measured in terms of years of
reliable performance.
During the life of the pavement, a pavement that requires more frequent
maintenance, rehabilitation, and resurfacing results in higher total roadway
costs. In addition, whenever a pavement needs signicant work, the driving
public is exposed to major inconvenience and trafc congestion. Local
businesses are adversely affected and worker safety is an issue. In the long run,
agencies and elected ofcials need to factor in the long-term performance of
their pavement investment rather than focus only on initial cost. In support of
this concept, the Federal Highway Administration promotes LCCA as an
engineering economic analysis tool to quantify the differential costs of
alternative investment options.
The decision process for
selecting paving materials is
often based on the initial cost of
placing the pavement rather than
the total cost over the life of the
pavement. Utilizing life cycle cost
analysis (LCCA) of structurally
equivalent pavements allows
agencies to account for the
economic benets accumulated
over time associated with the
various alternatives. This in turn
will allow for the selection of the
most cost-efcient, and durable
pavements for the motoring
public.
WHAT IS IT?
Continued...
INTEGRATED PAVING SOLUTIONS
The Federal Highway Administration promotes LCCA as an engineering economic
analysis tool to quantify the differential costs of alternative investment options.
0020-11-105
www.integratedpavingsolutions.org
Concrete Solutions
Concrete pavements help extend the life of transportation systems by
strengthening their individual components.
Because of its durability, concrete pavements can dramatically increase
network service life, reducing the cost and frequency of repairs and spreading
them out over longer time periods.
Less frequent maintenance translates into lower ownership costs.
A recent PCA survey of DOT speciers concludes that concrete pavement
lasts 29.4 years on average before a major rehabilitation is required.
Asphalt pavements required a major rehabilitation after 13.8 years.
Over time, the average asphalt pavement can cost up to three times more
than an equivalent concrete pavement. Recent oil price volatility has increased
asphalts life-cycle costs and made it more unpredictable.
PCA estimates that by using concrete instead of asphalt, states could save as
much as $100 billion on roads built between from 2009 to 2015, based on
the overall lifetime costs of the roads.
By 2015, PCA estimates concrete roads will enjoy a $500,000 initial bid cost
advantage over asphalt for a one mile, standard two-lane roadway roughly
a 41% savings. According the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the price of liquid
asphalt has increased 251% in the past ve years. Meanwhile, the price of
concrete has largely kept pace with a 4% ination curve.
LIFE CYCLE COST ANALYSIS
