National Highways will be live testing the use of wonder material graphene for road surfacing to see if it prolongs the lifespan of busy roads.
Engineers believe using the one atom thick product could see the operational life of key road features extended by several years, reducing the frequency of roadworks and making journeys for road users smoother and more reliable.
The revolutionary resurfacing will take place along three miles of the northbound carriageway between Newton on the Moor and West Cawledge, south of Alnwick, from Sunday 19 September to Monday 1 November.
National Highways Asset Needs Manager Graeme Watt said: “Laboratory trials have been a success and the on-site trials in Northumberland will be a world-first use of graphene in road production.
“Graphene’s benefits are industry-changing. It’s stronger than steel and adding it to other materials can turn them into super materials. From what we’ve seen so far, it could make some of our assets last significantly longer.”
National Highways is carrying out the trials with the Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre (GEIC) at The University of Manchester and Pavement Testing Services (PTS).
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