Sustainable Road and Bridge Construction Materials for Saudi Arabia: Balancing Durability, Carbon Reduction, and Cost

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@article{1718897,
      author = {Mohammed Ayman Ahmed Alshaer},
      title = {Sustainable Road and Bridge Construction Materials for Saudi Arabia: Balancing Durability, Carbon Reduction, and Cost},
      journal = {Iconic Research And Engineering Journals},
      year = {2026},
      volume = {9},
      number = {12},
      pages = {1995-2005},
      issn = {2456-8880},
      url = {https://www.irejournals.com/formatedpaper/1718897.pdf},
      abstract = {Saudi Arabia's road and bridge programme is expanding under national mobility, logistics and urban-development agendas, yet the material base of this expansion remains carbon-intensive, cost-sensitive and exposed to demanding service conditions. This review examines sustainable construction materials for Saudi road and bridge assets by integrating durability, embodied-carbon reduction and whole-life cost considerations. The aim is to develop a review-based decision framework that helps owners, designers and contractors select concrete, steel, asphalt and recycled-material options that remain technically reliable under hot-arid, coastal and high-traffic conditions. A structured evidence mapping methodology was applied to peer-reviewed and institutional literature published between 2020 and 2025, with emphasis on Saudi studies, life cycle assessment, life cycle cost assessment, pavement decarbonisation and durability evidence. The review finds that material sustainability cannot be reduced to cement replacement or recycled content alone. High-strength and optimised concrete can reduce quantities of concrete and reinforcement when design is not over-conservative; supplementary cementitious materials and alkali-activated binders can reduce clinker demand but require local qualification; recycled aggregates and construction waste can support circularity when processing quality is controlled; warm mix asphalt and reclaimed asphalt pavement can lower production impacts while maintaining pavement performance if mix design, binder ageing and rutting resistance are verified. For Saudi Arabia, the decisive issue is not the absence of sustainable materials, but the limited integration of performance specifications, environmental product declarations, local exposure testing and cost-risk allocation in procurement. The paper proposes a staged material-selection framework linking exposure classification, mechanical performance, carbon benchmarks, supply-chain readiness and maintenance scenarios. It concludes that the most defensible path for road and bridge projects is a portfolio approach: deploy proven low-carbon concrete and asphalt immediately, qualify higher-risk alternatives through pilot sections, and institutionalise carbon-informed procurement without weakening safety or durability.},
      keywords = {Sustainable Materials, Road Infrastructure, Bridges, Saudi Arabia, Low-Carbon Concrete, Asphalt, Life Cycle Assessment, Durability.},
      month = {June},
      doi = {https://doi.org/10.64388/IREV9I12-1718897}
  }