Prefabricated Road Panels. Government infrastructure spending typically goes to building more of our existing designs. A portion of government infrastructure spending should be dedicated to finding improved ways to build our roads. Elan Musks Boring Co and competitors should be funded to build more underground roads. As electric car usage increases the requirement to place expensive air handling equipment in these underground tunnels will be reduced.
Government officials should also evaluate the feasibility of prefabricated road panels. Road panels are made in a factory under controlled conditions of humidity and temperature so that concrete can be cured to be its most durable. When a road needs repair, the panels are transported during third shift on flatbed trucks to the repair site. The old road panel is removed and a new panel is attached to anchor rods that are secured to foundations below the frost line. (See diagram below) This design should allow several miles of road to be replaced overnight when traffic loads are low. This will reduce commuter travel times and reduce emissions to the environment.
To begin evaluating this type of road system funding agencies will need to adjust the algorithm used to selec road construction contracts. The total system cost including environmental impact, commuter time lost, and mean time to repair needs to be evaluated.
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