Engineering models for the design of long-lasting, sustainable, cost-efficient and climate-responsive pavements for Ashghal road projects in the State of Qatar

The planning, design, construction and management of modern transportation infrastructures is based on the use of continuously updated methodologies that consider, among others, the concept of sustainability. In such a context, for the specific case of road pavements, it is of crucial importance to carry out quantitative analyses based on the use of optimized engineering models. These models explicitly consider environment-pavement interactions, environmental impacts generated by all the components involved in the supply chain, and financial flows associated to pavement construction and maintenance. Such an approach is being adopted by the Public Works Authority (Ashghal) of the State of Qatar, that is developing and implementing models tailored for its infrastructure projects and local environmental conditions. This paper provides an overview of some of the employed models and methodologies that are based on the physics of pavement structures and on the assessment of environmental and economic indicators. It is shown that such an approach leads to significant improvements to current practice and to the enhanced use of recycled materials, while still guaranteeing required pavement performance.