Road Construction Costs Research Articles

Application of Steel Fiber in Increasing the Strength, Life-Period and Reducing Overall Cost of Road Construction (by Minimizing the Thickness of Pavement)

Recently, the use of steel fiber at high rates has been introduced as the sole method of reinforcement for fully elevated-suspended slabs having long span such as 5 m to 8 m each way, with a span to depth ratio of up to 33 [1]. As a result of long practical experience the total replacement of traditional rebar is a new routine. Now it is also used in the designing of SFRC pavements over conventional concrete pavements. Within the project framework a demonstration of a steel-fiber-reinforced roller-compacted concrete (SFR-RCC) pavement was constructed in a rural as well as urban area. In order to assess the economical condition of the demonstration pavement, life cycle assessment (LCA) and life cycle cost analysis (LCCA) studies were undertaken. This is the advancement study of the various papers which is already published in many publications which serve as the main and important source of study for the research. Many applications of steel fiber are listed in the paper but the main output of this paper is that SFR-RCC is more economically sustainable than others and also helps in reducing the thickness of the pavement up to 20 to 25 percent, due to the excessive strength of steel fiber. The roads of the present system required high cost investment. And the life period is almost 20 years theoretically but the actual life of the road is depending on the maintenance and the applied load. The constructions of road have been done since the 3500 BC but the method does not change fully. Also the cost of the construction is increased continuously; as a result, the construction of roads is more and more complicated and time taken. For the better and economical construction of the roads, we use steel fibers in the composite pavement. The theoretical plan of the construction of composite pavement is given in the methodology, which gives the appropriate idea about the construction of road using steel fiber. Here we use the composite pavement in which the steel fiber is mixed in the concrete layer, after which the bitumen layer is laid for the smooth and suitable riding of the vehicles.

STAKEHOLDERS' PERCEPTIONS REGARDING EVALUATION CRITERIA OF FOREST ROAD OPTIONS IN ROMANIA

Abstract Transparent and participatory decision making in solving complex forest management problems are fostered by numerous forest policies. Thus, all relevant stakeholders should be involved in the process of evaluating forest road options from the early stages of planning. However, participatory tools are not yet used as a matter of course in the Romanian forest sector. This study aimed to stress the importance of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in decision making in the forest sector. A survey (n=27) was conducted for prioritizing stakeholders’ preferences on criteria and sub-criteria used in the assessment of forest road options. ANOVA and post-hoc tests were performed for analysing the statistical significance of responses and possible patterns of stakeholders’ behaviour. Accessibility for performing forest works, protection of ecologically important areas and road construction costs were identified as the most relevant evaluation sub-criteria. The results showed stakeholders are aware of the environmental impacts of forest roads, while they show yet little concern for risks of accidents and other social factors. In respect to certain criteria, a tendency of homogenous clustering of expertise groups’ opinions was noted, the groups with forestry backgrounds behaving differently than those with environmental or tourism backgrounds. The outcomes of this study are useful for practitioners willing to approach complex decision problems like forest road network planning or selection of timber harvesting systems from a multidimensional perspective.

Machine Utilization Rates, Energy Requirements and Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Forest Road Construction and Maintenance in Romanian Mountain Forests

The FAO and EU forest strategies advocate the use of forest resources in ways which minimize the impact on the environment and climate. However, in forests with poor accessibility, the environmental footprint of forest operations is significant due to the long timber extraction distances. Thus, improving the environmental performance of forest operations requires a well-developed forest infrastructure, specifically the density and quality of roads. The aim of this paper was to assess the environmental footprint of forest roads in terms of embodied energy and greenhouse gas emissions due to construction and maintenance. In this respect, life cycle assessment approach was used to develop an input-output model for benchmarking two case study areas, considering real machine utilization rates, fuel consumption and labor requirements. The forest road life cycle was set to 30 years. Direct energy requirements derived from the fuel consumed by the machinery were considered. Construction and maintenance required energy inputs of 490.9 MJ m−1 and 580.4 MJ m−1, respectively about 36.6 kg CO2eq m−1 and 43.1 kg CO2eq m−1 emission rates in the two case study areas, while occupying productive land with forest roads triggered a loss of 3.95 kg CO2eq m−1 y−1 and 4.40 kg CO2eq m−1 y−1 during the life cycle of the forest Journal of Green Engineering, Vol. 4, 325–350. doi: 10.13052/jge1904-4720.445 c © 2014 River Publishers. All rights reserved. 326 A. Enache and K. Stampfer road. However, the CO2eq loss due to road construction and maintenance is insignificant when compared to the CO2eq stored in the growing stock of the opened forest area. Terrain characteristics showed a strong influence on the amount of fuel consumption, required energy input and GHG emissions, leading to higher environmental burden and higher road construction costs.

Demand for Benefit Taxation: Evidence From Public Opinion on Road Financing

Rising fuel economy standards for motor vehicles and higher road construction costs, coupled with infrequent adjustments to fuel taxes, have eroded the revenue base for road construction and repairs. We use survey data to determine whether the revenue‐enhancement measures being used by policy makers to address the revenue shortfall reflect the public's preferences regarding the distribution of road financing costs. In particular, we explore whether there is public support for the idea that road financing costs should be distributed in proportion to benefits received from roads; that is, the benefit principle. We find that public support for the benefit‐principle ranges from a low of 5 percent to a high of 34 percent, depending on the definition used. We also find evidence that people who support benefit‐principle financing are more likely to agree that the road mileage user‐fee is fair and also more likely to support revenue sources that satisfy the benefit principle. These findings suggest that a mix of revenue sources that vary in the extent to which they satisfy the benefit principle is a responsive political strategy. They also suggest that the low level of support for benefit‐principle financing is partly responsible for the unpopularity of mileage user‐fees. Policy makers who wish to pursue mileage user‐fees as a replacement for fuel taxes should make an effort to educate voters on the advantages of benefit‐based revenue sources.

Application of design speed for urban road and street network

Building of arterials in densely populated urban areas needs significant financial expenses. In the situation when the available financial resources for street and bridge construction are limited, the most important issue is to evaluate all possible ways to reduce the total road construction costs what is first of all achieved by reducing geometrical parameters of arterials. These parameters are reduced by changing the design speed, while ensuring an adequate level of traffic safety. Therefore there is a need for a review of standards for the street functions and categories of streets in urban areas. An analysis of average momentary speed impact on urban street and road network design, as well as momentary speed impact on traffic conditions has been done. A relationship between design speed and momentary speed at different capacity ratio of traffic flow has been found.

Performance of Natural Aggregates and Recycled Aggregates for Unbound Granular Pavement Layers

Recycled aggregates from solid waste can be used on pavements to minimize road construction costs and decrease environmental impacts related to the exploitation of natural resources and pollution. Thus, this study aimed to compare the mechanical performance of mixtures composed of natural aggregates, concrete recycled aggregates and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) flakes (in proportions from 0.5 to 4.0%) for application in granular pavement layers. Asphalt mixing, construction and demolition solid waste recycling, and PET recycling plants located in Joao Pessoa/PB, Brazil, provided the material used in this study. Tests such as particle size distribution, compaction with intermediate energy and California Bearing Ratio (CBR) were performed. The results of particle size distribution were useful to determine particle size proportions according to Brazilian DNIT specified standards and to prepare specimens for CBR tests. The compaction results indicated optimum water contents of 8.0 and 14.9%, and maximum dry densities of 2.01 and 1.83 g/cm3, for natural aggregates and recycled aggregates, respectively. Moreover, the optimum water contents increased between 16.4 and 17.7%, while the maximum dry densities decreased from 1.773 to 1.702 g/cm3 in mixtures of recycled aggregates and PET flakes, as PET proportions rose. Assessing mechanical resistance, the CBR value of natural aggregates resulted 45%, while that of recycled aggregates resulted 61%. On the other hand, the CBR results did not show a particular behavior tendency with the addition of recycled PET flakes. Therefore, it was possible to conclude that concrete recycled aggregates are technically viable for use in building granular pavement layers (sub-base and base) with low traffic flow, in spite of the variability of CBR results for mixtures of recycled aggregates and PET flakes.

Appraising Road Design and Material-Cost Component Using Virtual Reality

Capital infrastructure such as road construction weighs heavily on the budget of countries having large geographical area and growing population. The paper presents an emerging computer aided valuation appraisal technique for verifying design and quantifying the material-cost components contained within Bill of Quantities (BOQs) of paved road constructions. The method employed in achieving the research objectives is the use of Virtual Reality (VR) which is a technology capable of shifting a subject into a different environment without physically moving it. A prototype road with surrounding environment similar to the real environment was simulated using a combination of commercially available 3 Dimensional (3-D) design applications and the developed 3-D roadway with adjoining auxiliary road structures were subsequently analyzed using finite element testing method. The Ceremonial Road of the Federal University of Agric Abeokuta was chosen as the location for case study. The result of the developed VR platform showed matching values of material quantities close to that actually utilized. This technique has the potential of closely verifying the accuracy of presented BOQs by comparing the presented quotation with those generated using a VR platform. It is quite certain that application of this appraisal approach can proactively checkmate design flaws, Original Research Article British Journal of Applied Science & Technology, 4(27): 3956-3966, 2014 3957 overpricing and excessive budgets hence reducing cost of road development and maintenance. For future analysis, it is suggested that proprietary applications be explored for the same purpose. The research concluded with recommendations as a panacea to cutting down road construction cost.

Effect of Modified Bitumen with CR-10 and CR-15 on the Performance of Asphalt Concrete

Asphalt concrete has an extensive application field in road construction. Studies aiming to increase the performance of asphalt concrete have gained importance since the cost of road construction is quite high and resources are limited. On the other hand, researchers have inclined to use various wastes in asphalt concrete since the wastes from houses and industrial production has increased all over the world and the storage areas for these wastes are inadequate. The use of various wastes in asphalt concrete has become important since obtaining aggregate in good quality becomes difficult and bitumen cost has risen. In recent years, studies have increased progressively in relation to recycling of wastes and to increasing asphalt concrete performance with superstructure layers which are less in thickness. In this study, the experimental results have been summarized in relation to the use of modified bitumen in asphalt concrete, which are CR-10 and CR-15 and contain specially-treated tires. The elastic recovery rate of the modified bitumen from waste is 10 times more than normal bitumen. The penetration and softening point values of the modified bitumen’s CR-10 and CR-15 are higher than that of others. In addition, these products have a very low heat loss; therefore it can be possible to make castings in cold weather conditions. The behavior of asphalt concretes under repeated loads was investigated and asphalt concretes produced with CR-10 and CR-15 modified bitumen’s have proven to be longer lasting. In this way, using waste tires as a modifier in the bitumen not only improve the performance characteristics of the asphalt concrete but also help to reduce environmental pollution.

A Decision Support System for Allocation of Mountain Forest Roads Based on Ground Stability

The main purpose of this research was to introduce a method for planning forest road network by combining geographical information system (GIS) and analytic hierarchy process (AHP) in a form that environmental factors such as ground stability were incorporated in the planning process. After collection of data and building the necessary maps of study area, the effective factors in forest road allocation were identified and forest potential to road construction was determined and classified. After that, the maps of slope, volume per hectare, aspect, altitude, forest type, and ground stability were prepared. In the next step, concerning the importance and the role of the mentioned elements in the road construction cost, prepared maps were rated using AHP to determine the weight of both the effective factors and their categories. Then, forest potential map of road construction was prepared by overlaying the weighted maps of the mentioned factors. The later map was categorized to three classes including high, moderate and low capability. The results of this study showed that about 88% of the proposed roads were located in the regions with high and moderate road construction capability; as well, it provided an accessibility of 80% for the plan area. Results also showed that using of a GIS–AHP method could improve the accessibility to the district and could ensure that routs will pass from stable regions. The introduced method can be used as a useful method for planning of forest road network in mountain areas.

A program for cost estimation of forest road construction using engineer's method

Modeling the cost of road construction is a prerequisite for evaluation and planning of different alternatives for low-volume road networks included in a forest management plan. In this paper, a model for cost estimation of forest roads is presented, based on the standard engineering properties of cross sections and the location-specific parameters of terrain slope and vegetation information. The model assumes six main cost elements of clearing operations, embankment, pavement, grading, culverts and ditch for total construction cost calculation. To validate the performance, the outputs of the model were compared with the experts’ prediction for an existing forest road project in a mountain condition. The final result of the research showed that the model could estimate total cost of road construction in an accuracy range of ±6.5%. The results of the validation process showed a 66.51% underestimate for clearing operation, 3.56% underestimate for embankment, 3.85% underestimate for surfacing, 3.32% underestimate for culverts, 20.54% underestimate for ditch excavation, and 22.33% overestimate for grading of the cut slope and travel way. According to the reasonable estimation for total cost, the model could be applied as an evaluation function in finding the optimized layout of a forest road network.

Conceptual Cost-Prediction Model for Public Road Planning via Rough Set Theory and Case-Based Reasoning

Long-term transportation policies require government officials to predict the cost of public road construction during the conceptual planning phase. However, early cost prediction is often inaccurate because public officials are not familiar with cost engineering practices, and moreover, have limited time and insufficient information for estimating the possible range of the cost distribution. This study develops a conceptual cost prediction model by combining rough set theory, case-based reasoning, and genetic algorithms to better predict costs in the conceptual planning phase. Rough set theory and qualitative in-depth interviews are integrated to select the proper input attributes for the cost prediction model. Case-based reasoning is then applied to predict road construction costs by considering users’ difficulties in the conceptual policy planning phase. A genetic algorithm is also used to assist the rough set model and case-based reasoning model to obtain optimal solutions. The result of the analysis shows that the proposed conceptual cost prediction model is reliable and robust compared to the existing cost prediction model.

Assessment of Forest Road Network Alternatives for Pine Resin Extraction

Pine resin, one type of non-timber forest products (NTFPs), is important for Indonesia. In addition to its high economic value, pine resin also has bright domestic and international market prospects. Utilization of commercial pine resin has been carried out in Indonesia, but the forest road network required for extracting pine resin has not been specifically planned. To date, the planning and selection of forest road network in forest management in Indonesia are intended only for the extraction of timber products and have not been integrated with the use of NTFPs; also, they have not considered the economic, ecological, and social aspects a whole. Planning and selection of forest road network have focused more on economic aspects only. This study aimed at planning and assessing the forest road network for extracting pine resin by considering the economic, ecological, and social criteria. Decision-making method used to select the best forest road network was utility analysis. Indicator used included road length, road density, a correction factor for manual carrying of pine resin, pine resin carrying distance, road construction cost, and productivity of carrying and extracting pine resin. The result of the utility analysis indicates that an alternative of forest road network for extracting pine resin has no the whole best indicators, but it has the highest utility value. This study suggested that the use of the utility analysis help the decision makers to selects process for forest road network alternative easily and rapidly.

Assessment of climate change adaptation costs for the U.S. road network

The U.S. road network is one of the nation's most important capital assets and is vital to the functioning of the U.S. economy. Maintaining this asset involves approximately $134 billion of government funds annually from Federal, State, and local agencies. Climate change may represent a risk or an opportunity to this network, as changes in climate stress will affect the resources necessary for both road maintenance and construction projects. This paper develops an approach for estimating climate-related changes in road maintenance and construction costs such that the current level of service provided by roads is maintained over time. We estimate these costs under a baseline scenario in which annual mean global temperature increases by 1.5°C in 2050 relative to the historical average and a mitigation scenario under which this increase in mean temperature is limited to 1.0°C. Depending on the nature of the changes in climate that occur in a given area, our analysis suggests that climate change may lead to a reduction in road maintenance and/or construction costs or an increase in costs. Overall, however, our analysis shows that climate change, if unchecked, will increase the annual costs of keeping paved and unpaved roads in service by $785 million in present value terms by 2050. When not discounted, this figure increases to $2.8 billion. Policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are estimated to reduce these costs by approximately $280 million in present value terms and by $885 million when not discounted. These costs vary substantially by region and time period, information that should be important for transportation planners at the national, state, and local levels.

Distribution of Materials in Road Earthmoving and Paving: Mathematical Programming Approach

This paper summarizes a mathematical model that relates the geometric and geotechnical features of a road construction site with the allocation of materials, searching for a minimum construction cost. This paper proposes a linear programming model to optimize excavation and paving services. With this model, it is possible to evaluate site alternatives with different soil strata and different degrees of compaction. The borrow pit materials are allocated in the most economical way, and it is possible to incorporate more inputs like materials mix. Software was used to solve the model, and a spreadsheet application was used as an interface for data input. The proposed model demonstrated possible cost savings in earthwork planning. It is expected that earthwork and paving optimization with linear programming will reduce road construction costs considerably.

Qualitative evaluation and optimization of forest road network to minimize total costs and environmental impacts

Abstract: An efficient and low-cost transportation network is necessary for sustainable management. Roading and log skidding are the most expensive and destructive operations in forest environment, unless carefully planned and evaluated. A transportation network has to be assessed and optimized to minimize the total cost of road construction and its environmental impact. The aim of this study was determining the optimum forest road network density, and evaluating the quantity and quality of the existing forest road network. In order to determine the optimum forest road network density, skidding cost, road construction and maintenance costs, and harvesting volume in each compartment were considered. Then optimum skidding distance was calculated with regard to optimum road density and total correction factors. The relative openness and efficiency coefficient of the existing forest road network were determined for the calculated optimum skidding distance, using ArcGIS. The results showed that the optimum road density, relative openness and road network efficiency coefficient were 21.5 m ha-1, 90% and 32%, respectively. As a result, when the quality of a forest road network has to be evaluated, road network efficiency coefficient is more efficient than relative openness, that per se cannot be considered as an appropriate indicator.

The investigation of approximate cost and progress payment for forest road building in Lakes Region of Turkey

Forest roads are high-cost basic facilities allowing economic, ecological and social functions of forests to be fulfilled. Because the most essential work item affecting road construction cost is excavation works, amount of excavation and land classifications have to be most appropriately determined within bidding process. In regard to application, the amount of work given in approximate cost sheet required for bidding for forest road construction is determined by means of observational methods and the bidding is conducted within the scope of Public Procurement Law No:4734 before the project is made. After the documents including approximate cost, bidding and payment for 43 forest roads built in The Lakes Region of Turkey (Isparta Regional Directorate of Forestry) during the period (2003-2008) were obtained, the project started. The amount and cost of work determined in the bidding process for the roads involved in the research have been compared with those determined in the progress payment process. Within these comparisons, a consideration has been carried out by using tables, graphics and statistical methods. After the bidding files in the scope of Public Procurement Law in force were inspected, faulting components of the current application have been determined and solutions are suggested. It has been detected that the cost and amount of excavation determined in the bidding process differ from those determined in the payment process. It has been found out that it is not sufficient to determine amount of work given in bidding sheets related to road construction only by means of observation-based field reconnaissance. Projects providing better results as a result of using modern methods which can specify structure of land depth while conducting a road construction shall be designed. For this reason, geophysical methods can be benefited from. In order to conduct effectively biddings for forest road construction, amount of excavation and its distribution to land classifications shall be most appropriately determined.

Heuristic Scheme for Heterogeneous Vehicle Routing Problem on Trees Based on Generalized Assignment and Bin-Packing Upper Bounds

The vehicle routing problem (VRP) is a classical problem in logistics that aims to design minimum-cost delivery routes from a centralized depot. A special case of the VRP arises in situations in which the network has a tree structure (TVRP). Such tree networks arise when the cost of road construction and maintenance is much more than the routing cost or when the transportation network consists of a main highway (e.g., Interstate system) and the customer locations are located off the highway. A heuristic for a constrained case of TVRP in which the vehicle fleet is capacitated and heterogeneous is proposed. The heuristic first determines the customers that will be served by each vehicle by use of bin-packing and Lagrangian-based generalized assignment algorithms. The individual vehicle routes are then determined by use of a depth-first search method. A procedure for further refinement of the heuristic solution quality is also described. The heuristic algorithm was implemented on two real-world networks and on randomly generated networks that varied in size from 20 to 120 nodes. The heuristic solution was found to be between 2% and 10% for almost all of the 200 instances tested and took a fraction of the time taken to find the optimal solution.

METODOLOGÍA PARA LA PLANEACIÓN LOGÍSTICA DE VÍAS FORESTALES PARA LA COSECHA DE PLANTACIONES DE Eucalyptus globulus Labill. UTILIZANDO HERRAMIENTAS DE OPTIMIZACIÓN

Using an uncapacitated and nondirected network model, we propose a methodology for the preliminary design of second order forests roads to extract products from Eucalyptus globulus plantations using an aerial cable system to minimize road network construction costs. The model takes into account topographical conditions and road construction costs related to the terrain slope. In order to solve the problem the Dijstrak algorithm was used, in which the minimum cost of the shortest paths that connect all the stockyards are defined. In addition, the Kruskal algorithm was used to obtain the minimum spanning tree. Finally, the network was connected to an open road for the timber to be taken to consumption centers. In order to develop the algorithms mentioned above, an application on Matlab was designed, which gave an easier handling of the cartography data obtained from these algorithms.

Seeding evolutionary algorithms with heuristics for optimal wind turbines positioning in wind farms

In this paper a novel evolutionary algorithm for optimal positioning of wind turbines in wind farms is proposed. A realistic model for the wind farm is considered in the optimization process, which includes orography, shape of the wind farm, simulation of the wind speed and direction, and costs of installation, connection and road construction among wind turbines. Regarding the solution of the problem, this paper introduces a greedy heuristic algorithm which is able to obtain a reasonable initial solution for the problem. This heuristic is then used to seed the initial population of the evolutionary algorithm, improving its performance. It is shown that the proposed seeded evolutionary approach is able to obtain very good solutions to this problem, which maximize the economical benefit which can be obtained from the wind farm.

Utilization of sulfate-rich solid wastes in rural road construction in the Three Gorges Reservoir

Using the sulfate-rich solid wastes (phosphogypsum and electrolytic manganese residue [EMR]) discharged in the Three Gorges Reservoir region for rural road construction can reduce both the cost of road construction and the environmental impact of the wastes. The activation function of the sulfate-rich solid wastes composed of pozzolanic waste and acetylene sludge was investigated. Two clinker-free composite binders of phosphogypsum–fly ash–acetylene sludge and EMR–fly ash–acetylene sludge were studied. Practical rural road construction made of the composite binders was carried out. The experimental results demonstrate that the solid wastes can play an activation role in the binders without negative effect. Field investigations on the practical roads show that the compressive strength of the concrete specimens can reach 10 MPa at the end of 1 year and the road can meet the traffic requirements. It is affirmed that no negative effect on environment was detected when the solid wastes were used in the rural road.