An Integrated Framework for Comprehensive Evaluation of Sustainability in Transportation Geotechnics

Transportation geotechnics is an important component in the construction of sustainable transportation infrastructure, playing a pivotal role in ensuring the stability, durability, and long-term performance of transportation networks. Incorporating sustainable practices into transportation geotechnics is essential for promoting environmental stewardship and achieving sustainable outcomes. While tools have been developed to evaluate the sustainability of engineering projects, many of them have primarily focused on environmental impacts, overlooking broader social and economic implications. To perform a comprehensive sustainability assessment, it is crucial to adopt a life cycle approach that considers multiple dimensions when evaluating a project’s sustainability. In view of this, a triple-bottom line sustainability assessment framework called “Qualitative Assessment of Life Cycle Sustainability (QUALICS)” has been recently developed. This paper aims to provide a brief description of the QUALICS framework and demonstrate its application to assess the sustainability of design alternatives using three case studies of sustainable practices in pavements and transportation geotechnics: (1) fly ash and lime-stabilized sub-grades for pavement; (2) a streetscape with features such as recycled-aggregate base course, pervious-concrete sidewalks, and bio-retention islands; and (3) utilization of recycled-aggregate sub-base in pavements. Based on these case studies, this paper showcases the versatility and applicability of the QUALICS framework and highlights the significance of considering sustainability across various dimensions.