CSIR’s contribution to the development of innovative technologies and solutions for enhanced road system performance

Abstract

Road infrastructure is a key driver in supporting and stimulating socio-economic development. The South African road network, similar to those of other countries, needs to accommodate a wide spectrum of roads, ranging from light road pavement structures for local access to heavy-duty road pavements for national corridors. However, the scale of the South African economy is such that expensive pavement solutions, such as those used in Europe and North America, are seldom affordable. Hence, uniquely South African solutions had to be developed, calibrated and validated, supporting the optimal and sustainable utilisation of our limited and distinctively different resources. In this paper, the CSIR’s contribution to, and impact on, road pavement design, construction and maintenance is presented