This model aims to improve the environmental impact of these infrastructures by integrating environmental, social, economic and technical criteria throughout the life cycle

The LCE4ROADS project consortium presented the final results of the project during the final project conference, held in Brussels (Belgium) last week. The day brought together about 60 experts from the road construction sector, including representatives from public administrations and the industrial sector.

The event addressed four fundamental issues, among which were:

The importance of managing sustainability aspects in the life cycle of transport infrastructure.
The practical application of sustainability indicators in the design, construction and management processes of these infrastructures.
The experience of developing a document of the European Standardization Committee as a means to deliver project results
The need to join forces with other research initiatives related to aspects of road sustainability.

The main result of the project has been the development of a new certification system for road transport infrastructure, with its own software and management guides. This certification considers the three pillars of sustainability – environmental, social, economic – and its technical performance. That is, the LCE4ROADS accreditation is granted based on the sustainable performance of the road, determined by a list of 25 indicators that take into account these four aspects. Accreditation can be granted to new roads and roads in operation, whether asphalt or concrete; It also allows you to evaluate the sustainability of materials and construction processes, both traditional and disruptive

The LCE4ROADS project is funded by the European Commission, within the Seventh Framework Program, and arises from the need to have new certification systems for the sustainability of roads that have an integral character at European level. Thus, the project has shown the strong commitment of the road infrastructure industry towards more sustainable models, with a consortium composed of twelve partners representing a broad spectrum of stakeholders, from construction companies, SMEs, R&D centers, agencies of standardization, etc.

All the presentations that were shown during the conference can be found at the following link http://www.fehrl.org/index.php?m=32&id_directory=8069.
A final project report has also been published that can be downloaded for free here: http://fehrl.org/index.php?m=32&mode=download&id_file=18573