Sustainable Road Construction for Heavy Traffic Using High Strength Polymeric Geocells, Pokharel et al, 2016
Study shows how Neoloy Geocells are a Sustainable Road Construction Method that reduces aggregate use by 50%, hauling by 30% and carbon footprint by 60% in case study projects.
Four roads reinforced by Neoloy Geocells in the Oil Sands region of Alberta were evaluated to assess their sustainability. In particular, their CO2 emissions were quantified, as the roads were used to access drilling areas, which typically use large amounts of virgin aggregate transported from afar. Because Neoloy Geocell reinforcement increases use of local infill, the roads were found to cut haulage typically by 30%, thereby reducing CO2 emissions by up to 60%. This represents an important cost saving with the introduction of carbon tax. The study also demonstrates that in addition to reducing the carbon footprint other benefits of Neoloy Geocells include savings in construction, operation and maintenance costs and time, less virgin material mining, and health and safety benefits.