Skip to main content

Glow-in-the-dark motorway opens in the Netherlands

A smart highway project, which has glowing lines painted on each side of the road, has been launched in the Netherlands. The brainchild of Dutch artist Daan Roosegaarde, the project is part of the N329 Road of the Future in Oss. Both edges of the road have been painted with three lines of photo-luminescent paint, which absorbs light during the day and them glows green during the night. Roosegaarde calls these lines ‘Glowing Lines’. The aim is to increase visibility and safety. The project has been ins
October 24, 2014 Read time: 2 mins
A smart highway project, which has glowing lines painted on each side of the road, has been launched in the Netherlands.

The brainchild of Dutch artist Daan Roosegaarde, the project is part of the N329 Road of the Future in Oss. Both edges of the road have been painted with three lines of photo-luminescent paint, which absorbs light during the day and them glows green during the night. Roosegaarde calls these lines ‘Glowing Lines’. The aim is to increase visibility and safety.

The project has been installed in collaboration with Dutch construction company 6836 Heijmans and is the first of a series of projects planned by the two companies.

Next month, Roosegaarde and Heijmans will launch the next smart highway project, the Van Gogh-Roosegaarde light emitting bicycle path, part of the historic Van Gogh route in Nuenen. This spinoff is inspired by Van Gogh’s masterpiece ‘Starry Night’ and, says Roosegaarde, gives cyclists the opportunity to experience a modern version of the painting in an innovative landscape.

The Dutch minister of Infrastructure has also asked Roosegaarde to design a smart highway for the iconic Afsluitdijk dike, which runs for a distance of 32 kilometres, 7.2 metres above sea level.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Traffic management turns to machine vision
    June 1, 2016
    Traffic engineers can use the latest advances in vision technology to streamline and enhance traffic management. The idea of using one camera to perform all functions at an intersection is attractive to authorities for many reasons and camera supplier Gridsmart says it can make this happen. Its Bell Camera offers a horizon to horizon view that includes the centre of the intersection where vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians cross paths and it can be used for traffic light actuation, traffic data collection a
  • British Columbia's highway corridors show it’s good to share
    June 6, 2025
    The Canadian province is advocating harmony along its major roads, setting aside major funding for projects to allow vehicles and other modes to operate safely side by side, reports David Arminas
  • Mexico’s Durango-Mazatlan highway sets tunnel safety standard
    August 26, 2016
    Mauro Nogarin looks at the management of the longer tunnels on Mexico’s Durango-Mazatlan highway. In recent years the National Infrastructure Fund of Mexico has increased investment in the installation of ITS systems on selected highways to increase road safety. One such major investment is the 230km long Durango-Mazatlan highway which is 12m in width and has an average speed of 110km/h.
  • Gotthard Base Tunnel opens in Switzerland
    June 1, 2016
    After 17 years of construction, the 57 kilometre-long Gotthard Base Tunnel in Switzerland, said to be the longest train tunnel in the world opens today, 1 June. At a depth inside the Gotthard massif of more than 2,000 metres, trains will travel at up to a maximum 250 kilometres per hour. The opening is attracting attention from high profile figures outside of Switzerland, including Germany’s chancellor Angela Merkel, French president François Hollande and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, who will al