| There is no commonly accepted way to measure sustainability performance in civil engineering projects. The Greenroads(TM) Rating System was developed to bridge this gap in performance measurement for transportation projects and is an international standard for sustainable design and construction of roadways. Greenroads is a voluntary tool intended to aid roadway owners, designers, and contractors in choosing activities that result in a more sustainable project, while also recognizing successful implementation and encouraging innovation.;This research presents the results of testing the Greenroads metric on 120 roadway projects. The results provide perspectives on the state of the practice in roadway sustainability, as measured by Greenroads, and the potential for improvement in environmental stewardship, materials management, and construction activities. On average, most projects do not meet the minimum scores to achieve certification, but the potential exists to do so with minimal or no additional construction cost and effort.;Multivariate statistical tests show that there are five qualitative properties of roadway projects that are significant to resulting performance in Greenroads: a sustainability emphasis or mandate applied during project development, alternative contracting, pavement type, location, and budget. The properties of pavement type and location are recommended for further examination to determine the reason behind apparent advantages conferred on specific pavement types and locations. Sustainability policies, integrated project delivery, and financial leverage appear to present unrealized opportunities for improved sustainability performance. Overall, Greenroads is found to be a reasonable standard for measuring sustainability in the design and construction of transportation projects. |
