Energy and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with the construction and maintenance of transportation systems are an important part of the total environmental impact of transportation. Assessments of energy and GHG emissions from transportation typically focus on the energy and fuel used by vehicles in travel. However, some state Departments of Transportation (DOTs) and metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) consider construction and maintenance emissions associated with their long-range transportation plans and of individual projects for inclusion in Environmental Impact Statements (EIS). With over four million miles of highways and over 16,000 miles of bridges in the U.S., overlooking infrastructure can exclude a significant portion of total impacts.
ICE was created to solve the problem of “planning level” estimation of embodied carbon emissions in transportation infrastructure. Without the need for engineering studies, ICE helps answer this question: How much carbon and energy is associated with the building, modification, maintenance, and/or use of this transportation project (or group of projects)? ICE is designed to allow users to create pre-engineering, “ballpark” estimates of lifecycle energy and GHG emissions using limited data inputs. It generally avoids requiring detailed data that would be derived from engineering documents and construction plans. This approach allows the tool to be used in conjunction with transportation planning and NEPA processes, before details about specific facility dimensions, materials, and construction practices are known.
