PlasticRoad project: roads of the future?

Dutch company VolkerWessels has found a way to recycle plastic waste, and manufacture longer-lasting sustainable roads – revolutionising the current construction process.

Rolf Mars, the director of VolkerWessels’ roads subdivision, KWS Infra, said: “Plastic offers all kinds of advantages compared to current road construction, both in laying the roads and maintenance.”

The advantages of PlasticRoad are numerous: the reuse of plastic is great for the environment and allows much more uniform road surfaces – plus the assembly is modular (like a massive Scalextric track) meaning that the construction time is reduced from months to weeks.

Its design also allows the road to be installed in all kinds of terrains (even in sandy or marshy soils); it’s highly resistant to corrosion and is capable of withstanding temperatures ranging from -40 ° to 80 ° without notable deterioration. All this means that the lifetime of the surface (when compared to traditional methods) will be tripled.

And when it does deteriorate, due to its modular build, it’s a straightforward to process to simply replace the specific section of road. The base also allows wiring and pipes to be integrated, and the drainage capacity is greater too.

Although it’s still a concept at the minute, Rotterdam has embraced PlasticRoad and is considering piloting the new technology – so we’ll be keeping a close eye on how this exciting innovation moves forward.