An Overview of the Potential of Concrete Pavements in Turkey to Combat Climate Change

Abstract

The problem of climate change that we are facing today is mainly attributed due to the accumulated results of the unsustainable development of the last two centuries.  Today, it is generally accepted that the produced total energy is consumed almost equally by three major sectors; industrial production, transportation and buildings.  According to a report published by the Climate Watch and the World Resources Institute, three-quarters of global greenhouse gas emissions originate from energy use, while emissions from the burning of petrol and diesel from all forms of road transport is 11.9%.  Considering these facts, the importance of the road superstructure used in road transport in combating the climate change is quite clear.  Turkey is known as one of the world's leading cement producers and despite the lack of crude oil reserves and the vast amount of cement production, flexible pavements, chipseal pavements and hot mix asphalt, are the most preferred pavement type in Turkey's national road network.  During the last decade however, concrete road applications have gained a momentum in the local rural road network reaching to about 20,000 km of use. The choice of pavement type, especially on rural roads, is mainly based on the previous experience of the road authority rather than on a technical or economic analysis perspective.  On the other hand, the ever-increasing number of flooding incidents and the performance of concrete pavements against flooding also contributed to the selection process.  The aim of this article is to look at the potential of concrete roads in Turkey, considering the basic climate change strategies.