Investigation of the Economic and Life Cycle Cost Benefits of Concrete Pavement over Asphalt Pavement: Case Study of Isieke Road, Ebonyi State

Abstract

Comparative economic analysis using present net worth method was carried for 1 km of rigid and flexible pavement of Isieke Road, Ebonyi State. Information on the initial construction cost of the given length of the road, the maintenance cost, the rehabilitation cost, the salvage cost and the user cost which were obtained from the Ministry of Works, Ebonyi State, were used to assess the life cycle cost of the each alternative using the present net worth method. Comparisons between the various costs used to determine the life cycle cost for both rigid and flexible pavement showed that except the initial cost of construction where the rigid pavement is considerably higher than the flexible pavement, the other costs show the flexible pavement being on the high side. The summary cost showed that the for the period of 40 years which was the period of study in this work, the life cycle cost (LCC) of rigid pavement is 8.52% lower than that of the flexible pavement. Considering economy, this savings in LCC makes it a more viable alternative to flexible pavement.