Critical indicators for assessing the life cycle social footprint of Australian freeways

Purpose Freeways in Australia play a significant role in connecting distant communities, shifting freight and strengthening the country’s economy. To meet the growing needs of present and future generations, delivering a socially sustainable road infrastructure that creates generational benefits is essential. However, the existing literature reveals the lack of comprehensive indicators to assess the social sustainability performance of freeway projects. Therefore, this paper aims to identify a critical set of system-specific indicators to evaluate the life cycle social footprint of Australian freeways. Design/methodology/approach This study conducted 31 interview questionnaire surveys with actively engaged stakeholders involved in various freeway projects around Australia. The data collected was analysed using fuzzy set theory and other statistical approaches. Findings The study identified 42 critical indicators for assessing the social sustainability performance throughout the life cycle of freeways in the Australian context. For example, stakeholder involvement, reduction of casualty rate due to road accidents, fair remuneration to project workforce and improved accessibility to required services. Practical implications The context-specific opinions extracted from the industry experts and the comprehensive set of critical indicators identified would ensure that all the vital aspects of social sustainability are considered throughout the life cycle of Australian freeways in the future, assisting the decision-makers in enhancing the project’s social sustainability performance. Originality/value The linguistic explanations associated with the ratings given by the industry experts provide greater insight into the context of the life cycle social sustainability assessment of Australian freeways exclusively.