Comparison of environmental impacts of concrete and asphalt pavements

Superstructure layers consisting of more than one layer, are used, to reduce, spread and transfer the traffic loads to the lower layers besides to provide a smooth rolling surface in the construction of motorways. The top layer of road superstructures is called surface or wearing course or simply, road pavement which has two the most common types, rigid (concrete) and flexible (bituminous mixtures) pavements. In Turkey, Occupational Health and Safety is seriously focused in recent years which leads to care both human and environmental health more. With awareness of environmental damages can threaten human and worker health, the environmental effects from the raw material production to the paving processes of the concrete and asphalt motorways compared in this study. Besides being fully domestic product, concrete pavements are claimed to be more environmental friendly by Turkish Cement Manufacturer Association (TÇMB). Therefore studies and initiatives to widen the concrete roads are continuing in order to reduce the percentage of the asphalt paved highways with 100 percent. As a result of these initiatives, concrete reads are added to the duties and responsibilities of Republic of Turkey General Directorate of Highways in 2017. In this study, concrete pavements which has a number of research, studies carried on and hot-mix asphalt (HMA) pavements which are the most common pavement type in Turkey are compared in terms of environmental damages. Carbondioxide equivalent and Particulate Matter emission factors related to the processes of production, transportation, application and maintenance of the concrete and HMA paved motorways constructions are used. Foreign sources and rates are used because the emitted rates had not been obtained from the manufaturer enterprises and even from Ministry of Environment and Urbanization although the emission rates are monitored online on an hourly and measued in situ on periodic basis.