Sustainable HMA Pavement Construction Using Innovative Materials and Designs for Long-Lasting Assets in the SEA Region

Abstract

Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) pavements are the backbone of the transportation economy in terms of roads and airports for the Southeast Asia (SEA) region. There is a plethora of approaches in terms of materials, design techniques and construction strategies that can render a pavement long lasting. While there are several techniques that can be adopted by the SEA infrastructure agencies, the determination of the usefulness of each approach requires very large investments in time and resources. Identifying this gap, in this paper we examine two approaches of sustainable HMA pavement development for the SEA (a) modifying existing conventional materials and techniques and (b) examining next generation materials and techniques. The authors have taken the example of Southeast Asia Country to be used as the case analysis where we have developed reference material and design specifications in addition to examining the development of both physical and human resources and the estimated costs therein. Special focus is paid to the integration of locally available materials and the local environment/sustainability targets into this case analysis. Lastly, the authors propose a phased year wise transition plan for moving from the current level of HMA pavement construction to an integrated sustainable pavement construction toward creation of long-lasting HMA assets. The authors have endeavoured to ensure that approach followed can be replicated for any SEA countries by replacement of country-level policies and specifications.