The principles of the circular economy are the basic determinants of the sustainable development of road construction. This paper presents a field study with a new concept of asphalt pavement structure with ecologically oriented attributes, significantly reducing the asphalt pavement carbon footprint while achieving a level of long-term performance comparable or greater than that of conventional pavement structures. The sustainable pavement consists of the introduction of a BIO-additive that allows for the integration of higher percentage of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) as an alternative to the traditional asphalt mixtures. In the sub-base the use of construction and demolition waste was adopted. The results were obtained from a full-sized test section of the road structure divided for reference and eco-innovative cases. Mechanistic analyses were performed for materials and pavement structure based on laboratory tests and on-site assessment. The new eco-design solution was subjected to a comprehensive LCA and LCCA analysis and summarised by SWOT assessment.

Roads, due to use and time, become aged and as a result, they require maintenance. This paper presents a promising technology to compensate ageing. The method uses porous aggregates as capsules containing rejuvenator. The rejuvenator will be released during the asphalt pavement's service life, reversing the impact of ageing on asphalt performance, properties and, thus, extending pavement's durability. This paper describes the properties of two porous aggregates, the encapsulation method and the properties of the capsules. The capsules were incorporated into an asphalt mix and their fundamental properties analysed. Finally, the recovery potential of the aged binder was evaluated using ageing tests. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of the technology, a change in binder properties was observed over time, but to a lesser extent for the bitumen when capsules were included than for the reference. The solution also highlights the benefits of using encapsulated rejuvenator over the use of rejuvenator directly added to the mix.