Infrastructure of communication, and in particular roads, have centuries of existence. The design, construction, operation, maintenance and dismantling have been adapted to the requirements and challenges of each historical period. Sustainability is one of the main challenges of our society, including as main pillars: economic, environmental and social aspects. The assessment of the sustainability of an infrastructure such as a road is a challenge still unsettled. Moreover, the misuse of the term sustainability poses a threat to achieve the objective of evaluating the sustainability of the roads. Given that the concept of sustainability implies different requirements and criteria, it seems reasonable to use multi-criteria methods in decision making. This article presents a brief review of methods to assess the sustainability of the infrastructure. It also proposes the MIVES method to assess the sustainability of roads. It is a multi-criteria method which includes the three main pillars of sustainability: economy, environment and society. The article concludes with an example of application for prioritization of investments in rural roads and its potential conversion in roads of Provincial Government.

Peer Reviewed