Life Cycle Cost of Urban Pavements

This paper attempts an actual analysis of the cycle cost of urban pavements through the discussion of a case study: the City of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Three frequent paving solutions for the local street system are compared: plain concrete and two different asphalt alternatives. Construction, maintenance, reconstruction as well as residual value for the three alternatives are considered. Street lighting cost is also considered, concluding that the use of concrete pavements, due to its higher reflectance, allows big savings in energy consumption. Finantial efficiency of the three alternatives is compared considering a city fixed annual budget for pavements. During the first years, the low initial cost of asphalt solutions allows more blocks to be paved, but after few years, higher maintenance and reconstruction costs consume all the budget. On the contrary, cities that build concrete pavements transform most of their annual budget into new pavements.