1. Sustainability… in the eye of the Beholder A (recently retired) practitioners view Georgene Geary, P.E. GGfGA Engineering, LLC Green and Blue Highways Symposium Mid-Atlantic Transportation Sustainability University Transportation Center (MATS-UTC) May 6, 2015

2. Overview Sustainability and Reality Materials: GHG, LCA, LCCA Sustainable Pavements Some Concepts in Sustainable Materials - Examples Back to Reality

3. Sustainability & Reality Some sales people say everything they sell is sustainable Sustainable doesn't always = cheaper Some want results within 4 years Can be subjective Can be affected by local conditions (context sensitive) It can take years to tell if something is really sustainable

4. Are all these GREEN rating programs really…sustainable? INVEST Green Roads GreenLITES STARS SIPRS I-LAST STEED BE 2 ST sustainability Environment SITESSITES LEED Envision

5. Comparisons are out there for rating systems …but they don’t necessarily agree GDOT RP 10- 13 An Analysis of Green Road Rating Systems GTI, 2013 MPC 14-268 Framework for Assessing Rating Systems Multi-Plains Consortium, 2014 TRB 15- 3375 Identifying Scope and Priorities of Rating Systems TRB, 2015

6. Materials and GHG, LCA, LCCA ASPHALT: PaveGREEN, NAPA EPD program, Greenhouse gas calculator driveasphalt.org/sustainability CONCRETE: Pavements4life, MIT Concrete Sustainability hub, NRMCA carbon calculator sustainableconcrete.org STEEL: Green Buildinghttp://www.steelframing.org/sustainability.htmlhttp://www.steelframing.org/sustainability.html FHWA RealCost

7. Guidelines are Coming Out 2015 - Towards Sustainable Pavement Systems: A Reference Document 2013 -NCHRP Synthesis 435 Volumes 1-8 Recycled Materials and Byproducts 2012 – NCHRP RRD 365 Sustainable Pavement Maintenance AASHTO R 65 - Evaluating the Engineering and Environmental Suitability of Recycled Materials (Originally designated PP 56 in 2006)

8. Sustainable Pavements Materials Design Construction Use-Phase Maintenance-Rehabilitation End of Life LCCA, LCA and Rating Systems (FHWA-HIF-15-002, Towards Sustainable Pavement Systems)

9. The Future? Environmental Product Declarations From Chapter 10, FHWA-HIF-15-002, sample EPD for a concrete mix design

10. Education and Ingenuity are Sustainable Sustainable can take Time Sustainable is not necessarily sustainable everywhere Mandating specifics can be detrimental to Sustainability Sustainability Concepts to Explore:

11. Concrete & Education Georgia has allowed recycled PCC to be substituted for virgin Graded Aggregate Base since at least 1997 (not mandated) Invited recycler to speak at Contractors annual meeting in 2005 PCC recycling increased up to over 500K tons in 2010

12. Recycled PCC & Ingenuity 2014: Interstate16 100% recycled PCC shoulders Contractor had option of PCC, RCC, or Asphalt for shoulders Contractor requested use of 100% recycled PCC

13. Asphalt & Time 1981- 1 st Interstate pavement placed in Georgia w/RAP 1993 GDOT Standard Specification for RAP 2012- Tweaked requirements to make RAP mixes more sustainable

14. Micromill & No $ Georgia started using in 2007 Allows GDOT to “reuse” Stone Matrix Asphalt (SMA) But, Uses NO Recycled materials 1.5” SMA Regular HMA ~1” open-graded surface mix 2” SMA Regular HMA Conventional Micromill

15. Crumb Rubber & Mandates 1990’s- Crumb rubber mandated Early Pavement Failures Bad Experience with pavement ‘eating’ vehicle tires 2007- Polymer shortage caused Georgia to look at crumb rubber again Over ½ million tons placed since 2007 Ongoing research to evaluate & Necessity

16. Vetted guidelines related to the environmental issues Options to fit the Situation Trust to make the Right Decisions To be part of a Sustainable Solution, Materials Practitioners Need: