The "Route 66 of the Future"

«One day I was sitting in my car in the Netherlands, and suddenly I was struck by these roads we spend millions on but where no one seems to care how they look and behave. I started imagining this Route 66 of the future where technology jumps out of the computer screen and becomes part of us.» – Daan Roosegaarde.

The Dutch designer and innovator Daan Roosegaarde partnered with the construction company Heijmans Infrastructure to conceptualize “The Highway of the Future”.

Instead of focusing on cars to enhance the driving experience, Daan Roosegaarde and Heijmans decided to break new ground and develop “smart highways”. Innovative design projects–such as Glow-in-the-Dark Road, Dynamic Paint, Interactive Light, Induction Priority Lane and Wind Light–will be carried out over the next five years.

The goal is to build roads that are more sustainable, safe, intuitive, and interactive by using smart lighting, energy harvesting and road signs that adapt to specific road situations. This way, Daan Roosegaarde and Heijmans will be buiding the very first “Smart Highways” in Europe, using the latest technologies.

These highways were selected as “Best Future Concept” by the Dutch Design Awards, and their construction will start in the second half of 2013 in the Netherlands.

Glow-in-the-dark Roads

The pathways of Glow-in-the-dark roads are treated with a special foto-luminising powder to create a glow in the dark, making extra lighting unnecessary. After being exposed to sunlight throughout the day, it can then provide 10 hours of glow at night.

The first few hundred meters of this glowin-the-dark, weather-reporting road will be built in the province of Brabant in mid-2013, followed, over the next five years, by priority induction lanes for electric vehicles, interactive lights that switch on as cars pass by, and wind-powered lights.

Dynamic Paint

This dynamic paint becomes visible in response to temperature fluctuations, and enables the road surface to provide drivers with relevant and appropriate weather information.

This special paint will be used to paint markers like snowflakes across the road surface. When temperatures fall to a certain point, these images will become visible, indicating that the surface will likely be slippery. Daan Roosegaarde says that this technology has been around for years, on things like baby food — his studio just upscaled it.

Smarter highway Lights

What if we could save energy on highway lights by using them less, and also by using them better?

That is a big part of the project. Glow-in-the-dark portions of the highway could charge during the day and then light up at night, saving energy. The team also wants to turn off lights when cars aren’t around, or even use lights that «follow cars, chaperoning them to home safely». Some of the power these would require could be provided by cars producing wind as they zoom by, ideally putting a buzzing, traffic-fueled ecosystem in homeostasis.

Car Charger Lanes

One of the most advanced and interesting ideas of the project is to create what is more or less a gigantic car charger (literally, something that charges your car). A certain lane, called the «Induction Priority Lane», will use magnetic fields under it to charge electric cars, «the same as charging your electric toothbrush», said Roosegaarde.

Prototypes of this “dynamic paint and glow-in-the-dark road” concepts are slated for implementation next year in Oss, NorthBrabant, in Holland.

Updating the Dutch Landscape

Heijmans and Roosegaarde are not going to wait for these innovations to find their way through the political system, and will start building this smart highway now. They received inquiries from all over the world, such as India, which seems really interested in the project. Roosegaarde also hopes to take his designs to the US West Coast, where companies like Google already have autonomous vehicles driving around their campuses.

This unique and intensive collaboration between Roosegaarde and Heijmans is a true example of how a creative industry and a multinational that has a desire for innovation can do wonders. The design and interactivity created by Studio Roosegaarde, and the specific knowledge and craftsmanship of Heijmans Infrastructure combine the best of both worlds. Despite important differences, they focus on the process rather than on the product, and this is transforming the Dutch landscape.

For more information, interviews and images, please contact

Studio Roosegaarde Lidi Brouwer T + 31 (0)182 623038 E mail@studioroosegaarde.net
Heijmans Marieke Swinkels-Verstappen T +31 (0)6 52 47 69 72 E mswinkels-verstappen@heijmans.nl