Glow-in-the-dark roads make European debut
A 500-meter stretch of roadway near Oss, Netherlands is paving the way for the future of our roads.
The road is the first to feature glow-in-the-dark features in place of streetlights.
The project, led by Studio Roosegaarde, is still in testing.
Among the features are glowing lines, “electric priority lane” and weather designs. The weather designs would reflect the current outside temperatures.
The glowing lines are treated with a special powder that absorbs daylight.
In a 2012 interview with Ars Technica, Daan Roosegaarde, the founder and lead designer of Studio Roosegaarde said, “One day I was sitting in my car in the Netherlands, and I was amazed by these roads we spend millions on but no one seems to care what they look like and how they behave. I started imagining this Route 66 of the future where technology jumps out of the computer screen and becomes part of us.”
Studio Roosegaarde is the head of the project that also led Dune, the public interactive light landscape project that gained media attention in 2006.
Roosegaarde worked with construction group Heijmans Infrastructure, which developed the paint. While they have no contracts to further the project at the time, both have interest in expanding it.
Contact Kristen DeSilva at kdesilva@reviewjournal.com or on Twitter: @kristendesilva.