Innovation in Road Construction Industry: An Analysis of Different Case Studies

Abstract

Process improvement and innovation in the field of road construction sector offers significant community and industry benefits, by making an important contribution in economic growth and enhancing the quality of life. However, achieving better innovative practices in order to improve existing construction processes and to heighten competitiveness have gradually become a challenge for the road industry. The use of innovation in this context refers to the use of suitable materials in the construction of road, material such as eco-friendly roads, solar roads and recycled materials. This paper examines 12 different case studies on the uses of new material in road construction and where case studies are from different countries in different context and explores the usefulness of the practices under numerous road situation and conditions. The case studies have been analyzed in the following context: location of the case study, which helps to identify the suitability of road construction material with the weather condition; driving factors, which indicates, how and what selected case studies contribute in the field of innovation; economy and environment feasibility; and barriers in the case studies, which indicates hurdles to implement selected case studies. The study findings indicate that in order to maintain competitiveness, construction industry needs to continuously focus on the improvement of their construction processes and innovative materials. Finding indicates that in most case studies both economic and environmental benefits were realized.