Plastic Roads

Engineers in Germany and the Netherlands are researching the feasibility of constructing roadways out of plastic – a move that could greatly reduce the cost of not only building, but also maintaining streets and highways.

Sections of road are pre-fabricated using recycled materials that would otherwise pollute waterways and landfills or be incinerated. The modular parts can be installed in one piece on top of a layer of sand, reducing construction time to weeks rather than months. Underneath the surface is a series of hollow structures that can be used to run electrical connections, house sensors and measuring equipment, or even store water – paving the way for other innovations such as building heated roads or harvesting power from traffic.

The plastic road is virtually maintenance free and expected to last up to fifty years. It can resist temperatures from -40 to 80 degrees Celsius (-40 to 175 degrees Fahrenheit) and is highly resistant to chemical corrosion. One remaining hurdle is to ensure adequate skid-resistance by incorporating sand or crushed stone into the surface. The plan is to test the new design on a bicycle path before exposing it to automobile and truck traffic.