Innovative Pavement Materials and Design: Smart Roadways and Smart Road Maintenance for the Future

Abstract

break any industry or economy. The transportation construction sector is no exception, however, innovation and doing things differently in this sector has been dead slow for centuries, compared to other industries. Automobiles have developed significantly over the years, but the way we build, roadways has not. Innovative vehicles should entail innovative roads to be able to cater them. This paper looks into this subject from a practical perspective with some degree of theoretical depth. It provides a high-level review of a range of cutting technological innovations that can be readily adopted and applied in the State of Qatar and the region in the future. This includes innovative ideas such as solar roadways, plastic roadways, and app-aided road maintenance ignited through the use of the powerful design-build project delivery approach, in addition to addressing the strategic need for building a vivid innovation-driven organizational work culture. The paper is influenced by the author’s iconic book ‘The Power of Design- Build’, USA, (Hashem, 2014), and a number of research and innovation articles and papers in the transportation and infrastructure sector around the world. Daring to adopt innovation and new ideas is a must to advance the roadway construction sector and catch up with the needs and ambitions of the 21st century.