Sustainable Road Construction to Aid Mobility and Inclusive Rural Economies in Developing Nations

Project Team

A Royal Society Funded Project

Initiating a transformative approach to upgrading road infrastructure in emergent economies by developing circular road material technology that is regionally implementable and tailored for rural applications

Material Resources

Identify and quantify potential waste material resources for road construction within South Africa.

Material Flow Models

Develop digitised material flow models for current road materials and potential waste-based substitutions.

Processing Technologies

Investigate processing technologies suitable for local communities to create economic opportunities.

Engineering Application

Assess the engineering application and performance of waste-sourced road materials.

Circular Economy

Optimise circular economy strategies for waste-based substitutions.

Lifecycle Sustainability Assessment

Evaluate the efficiency and sustainability of transitioning to a new rural road construction paradigm using lifecycle assessment.

Key Themes

Circularity of materials

  • Use waste materials as primary resources.
  • Set a new standard for sustainable infrastructure.
  • Address key socio-economic challenges.

Rural focus

  • Improve rural access to basic services.
  • Technology tailored to create jobs.
  • Alleviate poverty and inequality in emergent nations.

Digitisation

  • Establish a material information system.
  • Develop material flow models.

“Science is about what is, engineering is about what can be.”

Neil Armstrong