LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT OF A RUBBERIZED ASPHALT ROAD IN LAMIA, GREECE

Life cycle assessment has been used to compare a rubberized asphalt road prototype with a conventional asphalt road, designed within the EU LIFE+ Environment Policy and Governance Project ROADTIRE "Integration of end-of-life tires in the life cycle of road construction", to be constructed in Lamia, Greece. The analysis covers the construction of the road bituminous layer, base and subbase, including production of materials and components, energy consumption, materials transportation and maintenance of the road. The disposal of the road is not included within the analyzed system. The assessment shows that, in both cases (conventional and rubberized asphalt layer), the main contribution to the environmental impacts is due to bitumen production and fuel consumption in the top asphalt layer construction. However, although the addition of end-of-life tires crumb rubber to the bitumen in the road construction yields increased burdens on some impact categories, rubberized asphalt shows overall reduced environmental impacts with respect to conventional asphalt, mainly due to its better performance over time.