In the United States alone, the total length of roadway exceeds 6.6 million kilometers, enough to circle the Earth 165 times.

光是在美國，所有道路的長度加總起來便超過了 660 萬公里，足以繞行地球 165 次。

While relatively simple to build as compared to other structures like skyscrapers or dams,

雖然道路與高樓大廈或是水壩之類的建築比起來更好建造，

the sheer scale of the global network makes road construction one of the largest sources of material consumption on our planet.

但全球路網的規模龐大，使得鋪設道路成為了地球上消耗最多物料資源的活動之一。

While road types can vary greatly depending on their use, location and construction method,

儘管道路的類型依據用途、地點與鋪設方法而有所不同，

the majority are formed from crushed rock, sand and asphalt in a process that releases volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into the atmosphere.

大部分的道路都是由碾碎的石頭、沙子與柏油打造而成，並在過程中釋放出揮發性有機化合物 (VOCs) 到大氣層中。

In order to curb the environmental impact of road construction, a number of new innovations are now being trialed.

為了降低道路鋪設對環境的衝擊，現在人們正在測試多種全新的做法。

Replacing some of the finite resources used in road construction with one of humanity’s most notorious waste products, all whilst extending the life of the roadway itself, makes a lot of sense.

把道路鋪設時所需的有限資源以人類最臭名昭彰的廢棄物取代，於此同時還能延長道路的使用壽命，聽起來是個合理的方式。

In India, the process of melting plastic to fill in potholes has been happening on a small scale for a number of years.

在印度，以融化的塑膠來填補路上的坑洞在小規模地區已行之有年。

British engineer, Toby McCartney, recognized the benefit of using plastic in roads while travelling the country,

名為 Toby McCartney 的英國工程師在該國旅行時，察覺到了在道路上使用塑膠的好處，

and developed a method of turning plastic bottles into small pellets that could be added to an asphalt mix to increase its bulk.

並發明了一種能將塑膠瓶轉化為塑膠微粒，將其混進柏油之中來增加柏油總量的工法。

McCartney’s solution has created roadways that are 60% stronger and last 10 times longer than those built with conventional methods.

McCartney 的解決方案創造出了比用一般工法所鋪設的道路強度增強 60%，壽命延長 10 倍的道路。

The UK county of Cumbria quickly noticed the benefits of this innovation and have adopted the process for new public roads in the region.

英國坎布里亞郡很快便察覺到了這種新工法的優勢，並採用它為該地區新建公共道路的工法。

Using 3 to 10 kilograms of waste plastic per ton of asphalt, and with roughly 10 tons of asphalt used in every kilometer of roadway construction,

該工法在每公噸的柏油中使用了 3 至 10 公斤的廢棄塑膠，而鋪設每公里道路約需 10 公噸的柏油，

this process has the potential to lock-up a considerable amount of waste material that could otherwise end-up in landfill or our oceans.

整個過程能夠將這些本來可能會被塞進掩埋場或是海洋中的塑膠廢棄物，鋪設在道路上。

Taking things a step further, Dutch company KWS, together with Wavin and Total, have developed PlasticRoad: a prefabricated, modular roadway made from recycled plastic.

而將這樣的概念更進一步推展，荷蘭公司 KWS 與 Wavin 與 Total 公司合作發展出了「塑膠路」：這是一種以回收塑膠為原料，預先製造完成的模組化道路。

The product’s anticipated lifespan is three times longer than that of a normal road build-up.

這個產品的預期壽命比一般的道路還要多上三倍。

It’s also four times lighter and can be constructed 70% faster than a traditional asphalt roadway.

它還比傳統柏油道路更輕，並且鋪設速度快上 70%。

PlasticRoad’s hollow design allows service pipes and cables to be fed through its road deck without the need for extensive digging.

塑膠路中空的設計能讓管線與電纜通過路面下，不須額外挖洞。

Some of the space can also be used to store excess water during storms.

部分的空間也能在暴雨時作為排洩過多雨水的地方。

With a number of trial projects now planned, including this bike path in the Netherlands, which opened in September 2018,

如今當地已準備計畫數個試驗建案，包含了這個在 2018 年九月開張的荷蘭腳踏車道，

you could see prefabricated plastic roads on a street near you in the not too distant future.

因此在不久的未來，你或許便能在住家附近看到這些預先製造好的塑膠道路。

Incorporating solar panels directly into the road network has the potential to turn an otherwise static piece of infrastructure into a major source of renewable energy production.

將太陽能板整合進路網中能讓這個本來完全靜態的基礎建設，有潛力成為生成再生能源的主要來源。

Companies such as Solar Roadways in the United States, Wattway in France, and SolaRoad in the Netherlands

如美國的 Solar Roadways 公司、法國的 Wattway 公司，以及荷蘭的 SolaRoad 公司

have all developed prototype systems that are durable enough to withstand traffic loads and the elements.

都開發出了足以承受交通承重與天氣侵襲的系統原型。

While the concept may sound advantageous, critics have raised a number of concerns around this new type of roadway,

雖然概念本身聽起來好處多多，但批評者們對於這種新型態的道路卻多有疑慮，

including the safety of vehicles driving over the toughened glass or silica that is required to protect the photovoltaic elements,

其中包含車輛是否能在保護太陽能發電元件所需的強化玻璃或矽石表面上安全行駛，

and how effective horizontal solar panels can be as compared to those positioned diagonally on roofs.

以及水平的太陽能板與一般傾斜著放在屋頂上的太陽能板相比，發電效果是否差異甚多。

Several pilot schemes are now underway, seeking to overcome these challenges.

目前已有多個先行的建案正在進行，為的就是要克服這些挑戰。

With a drive to reduce pollution, recycle plastic and construct a more sustainable built environment,

隨著降低汙染﹑回收塑膠並建構出一個更加永續環境的呼聲越來越高，

innovative solutions like these could make a significant difference when applied to something as vast as the global road network.

像是以上這些的創新解決方案若是能夠推展到如全球路網這樣寬廣的範圍，將能顯著改變我們的生活。

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如果你喜歡這部影片，並想要觀賞更多來自最權威營造相關影片頻道的內容，敬請訂閱 B1M 頻道。