Comparative Study of Rigid and Flexible Pavement Performance in Urban Roads
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.70716/reswara.v2i1.372Keywords:
rigid pavement, flexible pavement, urban roads, pavement performance, life-cycle costAbstract
Urban road infrastructure plays a strategic role in supporting economic activity and mobility, making pavement performance a critical issue in infrastructure planning and management. The selection between rigid and flexible pavement systems has long been debated, particularly in urban environments characterized by mixed traffic loads, frequent utility cuts, and high maintenance demands. This study aims to comparatively analyze the performance of rigid and flexible pavements in urban roads by synthesizing empirical findings from international and national studies. A qualitative–quantitative literature-based comparative method was employed, drawing explicitly on peer-reviewed journal articles, conference proceedings, dissertations, and performance evaluation reports published between 1998 and 2025. The analysis focuses on structural performance, cost efficiency, construction time, maintenance requirements, environmental impact, and serviceability indicators such as PCI, IRI, and PSI. The results indicate that flexible pavements generally offer shorter construction periods and lower initial costs, whereas rigid pavements demonstrate superior long-term performance, lower life-cycle costs, and higher resistance to rutting and permanent deformation under heavy urban traffic. However, recent developments in perpetual flexible pavements and composite systems show competitive performance in terms of sustainability and environmental impact. This study concludes that pavement selection for urban roads should be based on life-cycle performance rather than initial cost alone, contributing to evidence-based decision-making for sustainable urban infrastructure development.
References
Agostinacchio, M., Ciampa, D., & Olita, S. (2016). Performance assessment of JPCP and CRCP rigid pavements implementing M-E analysis. In Advances in transportation geotechnics III (pp. 699–707). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-0867-6_58
Agostinacchio, M. L. A., Ciampa, D., & Olita, S. (2011). Cracking response and service life prediction of flexible and semi-rigid road pavements implementing M-E PDG 2002 code. CRC Press. https://doi.org/10.1201/9780203882191.ch20
Bezabih, A. G., & Chandra, S. (2009). Comparative study of flexible and rigid pavements for different soil and traffic conditions. Journal of Transportation Engineering, 135(11), 911–917.
Borude, C. G., Bhusare, V., & Surywanshi, Y. R. (2017). Comparative study of flexible and rigid pavement subjected to static and transient loading in ANSYS. Imperial Journal of Interdisciplinary Research, 3(9), 112–118.
Costa, K. H. R., Salviatto, V. H., Silva Junior, C. A. P., & et al. (2022). Análise da matriz de valores fixos para classificação da condição de pavimentos flexíveis urbanos. Revista Eletrônica de Engenharia Civil, 18(2). https://doi.org/10.5216/reec.v18i2.69402
Dal Pra Vasata, A. C., & Silva Junior, I. (2013). Análise comparativa entre sistemas de pavimentação rígida e flexível quanto à sua viabilidade técnica e econômica para aplicação em uma via urbana (Disertasi). Universidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná.
Guzmán, G., & Mogrovejo, D. E. (2017). Gestión sostenible del pavimento flexible, rígido y articulado del centro urbano del Cantón Girón. Revista de Ingeniería Civil, 9(2), 45–58.
Kurniawan, A., Tjendani, H. T., & Putri, E. P. (2025). Comparative analysis of rigid pavement and flexible pavement reviewed from the aspect of cost and time in improving the Kyai H. Ahmad Dahlan Road Section in Pasuruan City. Asian Journal of Engineering, Social and Health, 4(9). https://doi.org/10.46799/ajesh.v4i9.631
Liu, Z., Yu, S., Huang, Y., & et al. (2024). A systematic review of rigid-flexible composite pavement. Journal of Road Engineering, 4(2), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jreng.2024.02.001
Lundstrom, R., Karlsson, R., & Wiman, L. G. (2010). Influence of pavement materials on field performance evaluation of rutting on flexible, semi-rigid and rigid test sections after 7 years of service. Revue Méditerranéenne des Ponts et Chaussées, 10, 689–713. https://doi.org/10.3166/rmpd.10.689-713
Maia, J. A., Lima, J. P., Pinheiro, E. C. M., & et al. (2022). Relação custo benefício antara pavimentos rígidos e flexíveis nas vias urbanas no município de Itacoatiara Amazonas. Brazilian Journal of Development, 8(10), 67912–67925. https://doi.org/10.34117/bjdv8n10-263
Maldi, A., Indera, E., Yuristiary, Y., & et al. (2025). Analisis perbandingan biaya perkerasan lentur dan perkerasan kaku pada ruas jalan Sebele–Sei Asam Kabupaten Karimun. Zona Sipil, 15(1). https://doi.org/10.37776/zs.v15i1.1765
Manuka, D. A., & Kuleno, M. M. (2019). Suitability and cost-wise comparative analysis of rigid and flexible pavements: A review. International Journal of Engineering Applied Sciences and Technology, 4(6), 23–30. https://doi.org/10.33564/ijeast.2019.v04i06.004
Margareta, M., Oetomo, W., & Marleno, R. (2025). Comparative analysis of cost and time between rigid and flexible pavements on the Pilang–Sawocangkring Road Section, Sidoarjo Regency. Asian Journal of Engineering, Social and Health, 4(9). https://doi.org/10.46799/ajesh.v4i9.677
Petronio, M. C. S., Rodgher, S. F., & Florian, F. (2024). Comparação da viabilidade técnica e econômica entre pavimentações rodoviárias rígidas e flexíveis. RECIMA21, 5(11). https://doi.org/10.47820/recima21.v5i11.5877
Ryś, D., Jaskuła, P., Jaczewski, M., & et al. (2019). Application and evaluation of M-EPDG for performance analysis of Polish typical flexible and rigid pavements. Roads and Bridges – Drogi i Mosty, 18(4), 345–360. https://doi.org/10.7409/RABDIM.019.019
Santos, W. B., & Balduíno, Â. R. (2024). Análise comparativa antara pavimentação rígida e flexível. Revista Ibero-Americana de Humanidades, Ciências e Educação, 10(7). https://doi.org/10.51891/rease.v10i7.14915
Setiyono, H., & Effendy, M. (2014). Perbandingan antara flexible pavement dan rigid pavement pada peningkatan pelebaran jalan. Seminar Nasional Teknik Sipil, 1(1). https://doi.org/10.22219/skpsppi.v1i0.4226
Sharma, S. (2022). Perpetual flexible pavement vs. rigid pavement: An economic and environmental cost comparison. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 1084(1). https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/1084/1/012053
Taunk, G. S. (1998). Rigid pavement vs. flexible pavement. Indian Highways, 26(2), 15–24.
Thomas, L., Berthelot, C., & Taylor, B. (2007). Mechanistic-based ESALs for urban pavements. Transportation Research Record, 2007(1), 45–53.
Wienrank, C. J., & Lippert, D. L. (2006). Illinois performance study of pavement rubblization. Transportation Research Circular, E-C087, 1–20.
Wiman, L. G., Carlsson, H., & Viman, L. (2009). Long-term performance study of different pavement structures: A ten-year study of flexible, semi-rigid and rigid pavement structures (1996–2006). Road Materials and Pavement Design, 10(3), 495–515.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Andri Kurniawan, Maicon Christian da Silva Petronio, Sunil Sharma (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
