Developing an assessment model for measuring roads infrastructure sustainability in Jordan

Road networks can be considered the lifeblood of human society. Despite their many positive attributes, they cause significant environmental and social problems. It is thus necessary to assess road infrastructure sustainability. However, the sustainability of the existing road infrastructure in Jordan has never been assessed, leading to major environmental and socioeconomic problems. Therefore, this research aims to build a sustainability assessment model for the existing road infrastructure to move towards sustainable development, and then to establish a framework that can be applied in Jordan. A list of indicators was first identified by reviewing seven international infrastructure rating systems; the indicators were then evaluated by a group of Jordanian experts in sustainability through a questionnaire. The indicators were divided into five categories, namely environmental impacts, mobility for all, transportation planning, materials and resources, and leadership, which were used to create a proposed assessment model. The model was then evaluated using partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). The results confirm that the proposed categories and indicators have a significant positive impact upon achieving sustainability of the existing road infrastructure. By establishing an assessment model for measuring roads infrastructure sustainability in Jordan, this study assists the competent authorities in achieving sustainable development.