The objective of the Road Technology Topic Area set out in the 1995-1999 PIARC Strategic Plan is "to improve the provision, maintenance and performance of road infrastructure in accordance with international best practice". One of the essential requirements to meet this objective is a means of assessing the relative merits of the various forms of construction and of the maintenance processes. This can be done by considering the costs and the performance of the materials and processes used over an extended period of time. In order to meet this objective, the Technical Committee on Flexible Roads (C8) decided to set up a Sub-Committee to study Whole Life Performance under the leadership of G. Bowskill (United Kingdom).

The Sub-Committee has produced this comprehensive review of the components of a whole life cost methodology as well as the major issues associated with the use of the technique. Also, an analysis of the responses to a questionnaire about the use of this concept in various countries is included.