Carbon footprint: a tool to quantify the impact of road construction on the environment

Abstract

A variety of materials are used in the construction of roads. Materials like sand, gravel, asphalt, bituminous and crushed stone are used widely. In India, Guidelines for the design of Flexible Pavements, published by Indian Roads Congress (IRC 2001) are followed. Flexible pavements are considered to include the pavements which have bituminous surfacing and granular base and sub base courses conforming to IRC Standards. Carbon footprint is a measure of the effect of human activities on the environment, and in particular on climate change. Here it has been used as an indicator to study the impact of the construction material used in the building, maintenance and repair of the highway. The objective of this paper is the calculation of the carbon footprint of a stretch of NH-228 in Gujarat state in India. This tool can even help to choose the construction materials which will be have lesser impact on the environment.