Awesome Roads

Words and images that appear on road markings are typically applied by crews using stencils. This innovative machine from Belarus company STiM, utilizes a set of nozzles that spray dots of thermoplastic to create long-lasting road markings in a fraction of the time of hand-painted designs. Their pattern also adds traction and is easier to see in bad weather.

If you need to re-pave a street, you typically need to reduce lanes and redirect traffic around the construction site. Switzerland’s Federal Roads Office (FEDRO) shows us a modern method for resurfacing that directs traffic over the work zone by erecting a temporary bridge. The modular ASTRA flyover bridge can be driven into place to minimize setup time.

When automakers want to test cars for longevity, they put them on rollers and shakers to simulate long-term driving. But how do you test how long roads last? Tom Scott takes us to a pavement testing facility in France that uses a rapidly spinning machine called a fatigue carousel to rapidly imitate decades of road use.

When the U.S. started creating highways connecting the nation, interstates were identified with a logical numbering scheme. CGP Grey looks back at the rationale behind the numbers which have since become cluttered with intrastate interstates, bypasses, beltways, spurs, and exception cases to confuse matters.

Potholed roads can be a major annoyance, or in severe cases, they can cause vehicle damage or accidents. Why is it that with all of the advancements in materials science, we still get roads with giant divots? Grady Hillhouse of Practical Engineering explains the uphill battle faced by transportation departments around the globe.

Filmmaker Conner Griffith is a master of tying together sound and motion. In this clip, he takes us on a speedy ride along California’s Interstate 5, precisely edited to the tune of Richard Tee’s rousing piano version of Take the A-Train.