The Gadgets Page

VolkerWessels, a construction company, has created a plastic road.

• VolkerWessels introduces the PlasticRoad – VolkerWessels

Their description:

PlasticRoad features numerous advantages compared to conventional roads, both in terms of construction and maintenance. Plastic is much more sustainable and opens the door for a number of new innovations such as power generation, quiet road surfaces, heated roads and modular construction. Additionally, the PlasticRoad design features a ‘hollow’ space that can be used for cables, pipes and rainwater.

In Utah, we need a road design like this because the snow plows tear up asphalt like it is paper. I love how the design accommodates channels for electric pipes and drainage.

This is the future of roads that I would like to see NOW. I don’t know how slippery the roads would get with snow, water and ice. Also, those large channels underneath might cause a greater likeliness of freezing.

If we were able to create roads that could be fixed just by removing a panel and replacing it in one day, construction wouldn’t be a problem anymore. If we were able to fix power and water lines without digging up roads, the repair would take half the time.

I love the design of these roads. They would be even better if the top panel were solar panels. There was an entry on solar roads here:

• The Gadgets Page – Solar Roadways Prototype in Idaho

A modular road system with solar panels exposed to light all day long would truly be a sign that we are living in the Jetson’s world.