ABSTRACT
Sustainability is an issue that today must be seriously considered in all structures. Sustainability may be described as a quality that reflects the balance of three primary components such as economic, environmental and social impacts. A sustainable development is the development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. In the context of pavements the term sustainable refers to a system characteristics that encompasses a pavement’s ability to: a) achieve the engineering goals for which it was constructed, b) preserve and (ideally) restore surrounding ecosystems, c) use financial, human, and environmental resources economically, and d) meet basic human needs such as health, safety, equity, employment, comfort, and happiness. Long life pavements or perpetual pavements affect positively the sustainability issue. This paper describes in details the items considered in constructing a sustainable flexible pavement; materials, design, construction, use-phase considerations, maintenance and preservation treatments, and pavement end-of-life considerations. It also outlines the benefits of constructing a long life flexible pavement, also known as perpetual flexible pavement.
