Owing to the use of existing bituminous pavement materials, Full Depth Reclamation (FDR) is generally perceived as a cost effective and environmental friendly rehabilitation option over the Traditional Reconstruction (TR) approach. However, variability in certain context specific factors across rehabilitation sites may influence the relative cost and environmental impacts of these techniques, potentially altering the preferred rehabilitation alternative. This study explores such aspects in detail using data collected from low volume roads in India, together with evidence from prior research. Specifically, the influence of four major factors (design traffic, transportation distances of construction materials/waste, cement content for FDR, and service life of FDR) was investigated. The cost was calculated using standard analysis of rates, and environmental impacts were evaluated through life cycle assessment. An uncertainty analysis was also performed to understand the influence of variability in key parameters on environmental impacts. The results indicate that variations in any of the above mentioned factors hold the ability to influence FDR and TR to varying extents, leading to significant changes in their relative cost and environmental impacts, which in certain cases can even shift the preferred rehabilitation alternative. For instance, with 25 % change in transportation distances, the average changes in cost, Embodied Energy (EE), Global Warming Potential (GWP), Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP), Acidification Potential (AP), Eutrophication Potential (EP), and Photochemical Ozone Creation Potential (POCP) for TR were 11.6 %, 6.8 %, 11.9 %, 18.8 %, 12.1 %, 14.7 %, and 6.1 %, respectively, which were significantly higher than the corresponding variations for FDR (2.2 %, 0.9 %, 1.6 %, 9.2 %, 3.4 %, 4.5 %, and 1.3 %). Within the scope of this study, shifts in the preferred rehabilitation alternative were observed predominantly with respect to EE and GWP. From cost, ODP, AP, EP, and POCP perspectives, FDR generally remained the favourable option. However, in a few scenarios, TR was found to be preferable as well. These findings suggest that highway agencies should undertake region specific analyses to identify the conditions under which FDR is preferable within their jurisdictions, and when TR may be more appropriate.
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