FOR - Forever Open Road

English name:	Forever Open Road
Project status:	current
Project duration:	14.12.2009 -
Website address:	http://www.foreveropenroad.eu
Project budget:	0.00
Contact info:	Public contact: Martin Lamb - Public telephone: +32 2 775 82 45 - Public email: info@fehrl.org

Short description

The Forum of European National Highway Research Laboratories (FEHRL) has set itself the challenge to develop a truly inspiring vision for how roads will be built and maintained in the 21st century. The result is the Forever Open Road – a revolutionary concept that will bring together the best of what we have today with the best of what’s to come, and produce the 5th generation road. A road that is adaptable, automated and climate change resilient, based upon a concept for building and maintaining roads that can be applied whether motorway, rural or urban, and regardless of region or country

Full description

There are three elements to the Forever Open Road:

• The adaptable road
• The automated road
• The climate change resilient road

The road would adapt to future maintenance, changing capacity demand and vehicle manufacturer needs; it would automatically provide in-built vehicle guidance, as well as travel information and performance measurement; it will be built from sustainable materials; and will harvest, store and use energy, will cope with excess water and temperature change, and will be able to clean and repair itself.

The overall aim would be for roads to be Forever Open, with minimum intervention for repairs and widening or for new installations or for dealing with weather hazards. The key to this new approach will be the adaptable element, formed of prefabricated, upgradable pavement structures that retain long-life regardless of the need for upgrades and interventions. The adaptable element will accommodate the automated and climate change resilient elements.