Life cycle cost analysis of conventional whitetopping v/s rigid pavement and flexible pavement

Roads are the backbone for social, economic, industrial and cultural development of a country. Road infrastructure plays a major role in the economic growth of a developing country like India and every year a lion’s share of budget is allocated for the transport sector. Due to budget constraints, many highway agencies are becoming interested in pavement preservation or rehabilitation to ensure the sustainability pavement in serviceable condition. Whitetopping is a relatively new rehabilitation technology for deteriorated asphalt pavement in India. Over the past two decades, whitetopping has gained considerable interest and great acceptance as an alternative to hot mix asphalt overlay (ACPA, 2004). Conventional whitetopping is the process of rehabilitating distressed hot mix asphalt pavements by using more than 200 mm thick cement concrete overlay. It can be applied where rutting of bituminous pavement is a recurring problem. This paper presents the conventional whitetopping as a cost effective technique using the life cycle cost analysis (LCCA) by comparing it with other types of pavements to Indian scenario.