As the Fourth Industrial Revolution ushers extraordinary technologies and the world continues to place a greater emphasis on vehicles, innovation and mobility, the way we conceptualise and build our roadways is set for a major change.

This is the view of Anton Hartman, Technical Director for Pavements and Materials at Aurecon who argues that in our journey to the autonomous future, we have forgotten to transform our roads.

“What’s the use of having smart cars if our roads are dumb? With more opportunities for innovative reinvention than ever before, is it quite possible that we are coming to the end of roads as we know them?” Hartman asks in Aurecon’s latest Just Imagine blog post.

“Coupled with the current wave of innovation to design for sustainability, there is an equal imperative to see our new and old infrastructure becoming smarter,” he says.

Digitally responsive networks

With autonomous vehicles increasingly dominating streets and highways, roads need to act as an intuitive and technologically integrated system that can host these new transport innovations.

“In the future, roads will no longer be seen simply as empty conduits to move vehicles from one place to another, but environmentally regenerative, digitally responsive networks.

“Magnetisable concrete, for example, is the latest invention that could potentially promise to revolutionise the Electric Vehicle (EV) industry. By embedding a highly controllable and resident coiled technology into a designated lane, EVs can charge up their vehicles on the go. The result is a streamlined highway, void of charging stations and an unbeatable value for money EV industry,” Hartman explains.

Smart materials

Turning to the construction of roads, Hartman points out that new construction materials now offer fascinating alternatives that have inbuilt renewability capabilities.

“Dr Rajagopalan Vasudevan, dean and professor of chemistry at India’s Thiagarajar College of Engineering, found that plastic, when molten and mixed with a stone and bitumen mix, has been proven to be an excellent binder and creates a stronger and longer-lasting road.”

An estimated 100 000 km of roads in India are actually made up of plastic and which has inspired companies to follow suit and build roads in places like the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Similarly innovations like self-healing concrete are extending the lifespan of old concrete, with self-activating limestone-producing bacteria that congeal in pavement cracks as they form,” he explains.

Pushing the boundaries

Hartman highlights the recent project by architects Carlo Ratti Associati (CRA) and Sidewalk Labs (owned by Google’s Alphabet)  as an example of how modern pavement engineers are constantly pushing the boundaries of form and function, seeking more effective ways to close the loop on conventional construction outputs.

The project saw the two companies teaming up to launch a prototype of Dynamic Street, which is a series of hexagonal modular pavers which can be picked up and replaced within hours or even minutes”, that allows you to change the function of the road with much lesser disruptions to the street.

A new way is needed

“Naturally, the reconstruction and retrofitting of our roadways will demand a new eye when it comes to urban planning, as well as a new perspective when it comes to the nature of our public private partnerships,”  Hartman says.

He adds that while all the developments to create smart roads are still in the works, all sectors have to collectively start thinking ‘smart’ now before it’s too late.

“In spite of all that they promise regarding road safety, ecological efficiency and connectivity, smart roads still have a long way to go in the public and private eye. Greater education, research and investment models are needed to expedite their roll out and pave the way for AV innovation.

“It’s not a question of which comes first, the road or the cars? If we want to make the dream of autonomous vehicles a reality, we have to remember the path we are traveling on,” he concludes.

To read Anton Hartman’s full blog post you can visit Aurecon’s Just Imagine blog. Just Imagine provides a glimpse into the future for curious readers, exploring ideas that are probable, possible and for the imagination. Subscribe here to get access to the latest blog posts as soon as they are published.