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INFRASTRUCTURE

Solar-powered Roads environmental impact of electric cars.
Our future roads have the Smart Highways
potential to become massive power
generators. Solar panels on the Several companies worldwide are
streets will harness the energy from working on creating a network of
the sun and convert it into electrical smart highways that rely on sensors
energy that can be used for various to detect and reroute traffic in real-
purposes. Thus, cutting down our time. The intelligent sensors for
reliance on fossil fuels for energy. these highways will be embedded
in the roads as well as on the
Several companies across the vehicles.
globe are exploring the potentials
of harnessing energy from roads. These highways have the
The Glowing Lines project is a 500- potential to prevent crashes by
meter long road in Netherland. The detecting the speed, momentum,
lanes of the highways are painted and position of vehicles. If any of
with light-absorbing paint. These these parameters change abruptly,
paints absorb sunlight by day and the system will override the vehicle’s
glow at night, guiding drivers. manual control system and prevent
a collision.
In Jinan, a city in China, a
company is experimenting by laying Self-healing Roads
solar panels on a major highway.
The energy generated from these The highways of the future will
solar panels will be used to light also be low maintenance. Research
up the roads at night. A similar is being done on the development
trial is being conducted by Colas, a of self-repairing materials that will
French startup in partnership with reduce maintenance costs.
the National Solar Energy Institute.
Heating Panels on Roads
Roads that charge Imagine embedding heating
Electric Cars element panels on road surfaces.
This could help in increasing the
Electreon is a start-up based in
Israel working on a technology, temperature of roads, melting
which will allow electric cars to ice, and snow, thus making travel
charge while they are in motion. conditions safer and smoother in
The company uses special coils that winter.
are buried beneath the asphalt of Srivastava has authored one of the bestselling
roads. These coils provide on-the-go books- Digital Construction Management.
charging for vehicles using the road. He has successfully implemented many
digital programs of the Government such as
The project director states that FASTag, e-Tender & e-MB Portals, automation
these roads eliminate the need for of highway sector, Project Management
charging infrastructure, reducing the Softwares, citizen centric Mobile Apps etc.

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