Abstract:
The developing world has been faced with high rates of unemployment, exasperated by
extended enforced lockdowns due to the Pandemic. Pressure is mounting for drastic intervention
to accelerate economic growth and to provide employment opportunities. Most of these countries
are faced with inadequate road transport facilities in support of economic growth. The construction
of high-order roads in support of economic growth, require high degrees of compliance with limited
opportunities for increased the labour content. However, many of the existing surfaced roads are
notoriously lacking periodic preventative maintenance operations needed to preserve the integrity
of road surfaces to protect pavement structures against water ingress and resultant rapid deterioration. This article demonstrates the ability of available, proven nanotechnologies to restore the waterresistant properties of already compromised road surfacings. It is shown that traditionally used road
products can substantially be improved (in terms of strength properties and resistance to environmental factors) through the addition of applicable nanotechnology modifiers. These modified products can be applied at ambient temperatures, ideally suited for labour intensive applications as
demonstrated, showing several examples of actual applications. A combination of modified existing
technologies is recommended to partially restore severely compromised road surfacings, especially
applicable to secondary, tertiary and urban road networks. The implementation of the recommended restoration programmes can go a long way towards road asset preservation, while simultaneously, addressing the urgent need for rapid employment generation.