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Researchers at the University of Sheffield are working to develop long lasting road surfaces that would be cheaper to construct and more environmentally friendly. The three-year collaborative project aims to significantly cut energy consumption and construction costs and time, as well as use waste materials in road construction and make tyre recycling more economically attractive.

The project aims to cut construction costs by 10-20%, construction time by 15% and energy consumption by up to 40%. It will also work to improving the environmental impact of road pavements with regard to emissions and noise and improving the safety of the road's surface. As part of the research the roads of new EU member state Cyprus and candidate countries, Romania and Turkey will be targeted - countries with probably the greatest need and potential for new surface infrastructure.

Funded by the European Union's Framework Programme 6, the project involves nine European partners from six countries and is coordinated by the University of Sheffield. Universities, industrial partners, consumers and the European Tyre Recycling Association will come together to develop, test and validate steel-fibre-reinforced-concrete (SFRC) pavements in order to make road pavements more cost effective and sustainable.

Professor Kypros Pilakoutas, of the Department of Civil and Structural Engineering at the University of Sheffield and coordinator of the project, said: "Given the rise in energy prices and the need to reduce CO2 emissions drastically, this is a major step forward for the future of road construction, both here in the UK and overseas. It is particularly imperative for countries that are currently developing their surface infrastructures, as this new research will allow these countries to build and maintain roads much more cost effectively and at the benefit of the environment."