U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590
202-366-4000


Skip to content U.S. Department of Transportation/Federal Highway AdministrationU.S. Department of Transportation/Federal Highway Administration

Office of Infrastructure

 

FHWA Climate Challenge - Quantifying Emissions of Sustainable Pavements

FHWA’s Climate Challenge identified more than 35 projects from 27 agencies (including 2 local agencies), providing $7.1 million to 25 state departments of transportation. FHWA Technical assistance will be provided to all the 27 agencies.

Over the next two years participants will receive training and work with various stakeholders including industry and academia to implement projects that quantify the environmental impacts of pavements using life cycle assessment (LCA) and environmental product declarations (EPDs).

Map of US with Climate Challenge Participants in green. Information detailed for each state in table following.
Climate Challenge Participants and Project Description

State

Agency Name

Project Description

Funding Awarded

Alabama

Alabama DOT

Quantifying Emissions from the Production and Construction of Balanced Mix Design (BMD) Asphalt Mixtures with Recycled Materials, Warm Mix Asphalt, and Recycling Agents.

$312,000

Arizona

Arizona DOT

Exploring Arizona DOT pavement materials and performance using LCA, PCRs, and EPDs to quantify resource use, energy, emissions and inform design selection processes.

$280,000

California

Caltrans

Project 1: Provide Concrete, Asphalt, and/or Aggregate plants access to EPD Tool(s).

Project 2: Reduced Temperature Production and Chemical Warm Mix Asphalt.

Project 3: Exploring the Effects of High Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP) Rejuvenated Asphalt on Pavement Performance and Greenhouse Gas Emissions using EPDs and Balanced Mix Design Principles.

$312,000

Colorado

Colorado DOT

Continued Implementation Activities Associated with HB 1303 - Buy Clean Colorado Act, and Going Beyond Materials.

$312,000

Delaware

State of Delaware DOT

Quantifying Carbon Emissions in Pavement Construction, Maintenance, and Preservation.

$312,000

Hawaii

State of Hawaii DOT

Plastic Recycling Research Facility in Hawaii.

$312,000

Illinois

Illinois DOT

Field Demonstration of Dolomite Quarry By-products Used in Local Road Construction in Illinois.

$312,000

Indiana

Indiana DOT

EPD Benchmark Project for Indiana Pavement.

$312,000

Iowa

Iowa DOT

Use of EPDs and LCA to quantify emissions and associated impacts of material and design decisions to enhance sustainable pavement practices in Iowa.

$312,000

Louisiana

Louisiana DOT & Development

Sustainability through Development of Life Cycle Information Models for Pavements in Louisiana.

$312,000

Maryland

Maryland DOT

MD Port Administration

Project 1: Informed Emissions Reduction Strategies for Asphalt and Concrete Paving Projects.

Project 2: Geoenvironmental and LCA of Highway Infiltration Berms Constructed with Dredged Sediments.

$312,000

Minnesota

Minnesota DOT

Using LCA to Reduce Embodied Carbon in Pavement Infrastructure at Minnesota DOT.

$312,000

Mississippi

Mississippi DOT

Conducting LCA for Asphalt Pavements Constructed with Cold Mixes.

$312,000

Missouri

Missouri DOT

A Roadmap for Missouri: Assessing Needs an Implementation Framework for Incorporating EPDs.

$312,000

New Jersey

New Jersey DOT

Project 1: Utilization of EPDs and LCA to Promote Sustainability in New Jersey’s Pavements.

Project 2: Improve Sustainability of Asphalt Pavement Overlay in New Jersey.

$204,000

New York

New York State DOT

Potential Environmental Benefit of Performance Mixes.

$312,000

North Dakota

North Dakota DOT

NDDOT Sustainable Pavements Evaluation.

$240,000

Oklahoma

Oklahoma DOT

Evaluating the Broader Impacts of Balanced Mix Design (BMD) and Warm Mix Asphalt (WMA) Specifications and Incentives in Oklahoma through a LCA Framework.

$283,448

Oregon

State of Oregon DOT

Project 1: Asphalt plant renewable propane proof of concept and LCA development.

Project 2: The impact of declining roadway conditions on road user costs and Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Project 3: LCA Program Implementation and support.

$312,000

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico Highway and Transportation Authority

Project 1: Puerto Rico Sustainability Workshop Series; A Hands-on Workshop Series on LCAs and EPDs.

Project 2: Puerto Rico LCA and EPD Development Plan.

$120,000

Rhode Island

Rhode Island DOT

Resilient Resurfacing – A Permeable Pavement Pilot.

$312,000

Texas

Texas DOT

Developing Capacity for Whole-Life LCA.

$312,000

Virginia

Virginia DOT

Quantifying Greener Pavements in Virginia.

$312,000

West Virginia

West Virginia DOT; Division of Highways

Investigating Sustainable Asphalt Mix Design Solutions in West Virginia.

$79,671

Washington

Washington DOT

Using LCA to Reduce Embodied Carbon in Pavement Infrastructure at Washington DOT.

$312,000

Local Agency

City of Seattle

Reducing Embodied Carbon in City of Seattle Capital Projects.

Only Technical Assistance Provided

Local Agency

The Port of Authority of New York and New Jersey

Project 1: LCA Data Gaps and Refinement.

Project 2: Low Carbon Asphalt Support.

Project 3: Standard for Benchmarking against 2006.

Only Technical Assistance Provided

Total

$7,135,119

DOT - Department of Transportation
LCA - Life Cycle Assessment
EPD - Environmental Product Declaration
PCR - Product Category Rules

Updated: 10/19/2022
Federal Highway Administration | 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE | Washington, DC 20590 | 202-366-4000