Glow-in-the-dark (illuminating paint) road markings have replaced streetlights on a 500m stretch of highway in the Netherlands.
Photo: Studio Roosegaarde/Maxime Verhagen

Conceived by Daan Roosegaarde, founder and lead designer of Studio Roosegaarde, a 500m stretch of the N329 highway in Oss, Netherlands, now features markings created with a photo-luminescent powder integrated into the road paint. The project was developed in conjunction with Heijmans, a road construction company.

"One day I was sitting in my car in the Netherlands, and I was amazed by these roads we spend millions on but no one seems to care what they look like and how they behave," Roosegaarde told Wired's UK affiliate in October 2012. "I started imagining this Route 66 of the future where technology jumps out of the computer screen and becomes part of us."

Part of that vision included weather markings -- snowdrops, for instance, would appear when the temperature reached a certain level. For now though, Roosegaarde told Wired that Heijmans had managed to take its luminescence to the extreme – "It's almost radioactive," the designer said. According to a Dutch News report, Heijmans wants to expand the project but has not yet secured any further contracts.

It's too soon to tell how the paint will hold up against wear and tear long term. The glow lasts up to eight
hours after charging all day, but a patchy and inconsistent strip would not yet be as effective as
energy-guzzling streetlights.