Roads are dumb pavement, the simple combination of oil and gravel that annoy us in their crumbling frailty when they're not so helpful in getting us from here to there.

But an article on Politico urges us not to fret because "even asphalt can be improved, sometimes radically."

With the premise of "roads as technology," the article briefly goes over some exciting innovations in road building. The best part? Projects in Washington state and Idaho get some shine.

The first one is the wildlife crossing just east of Snoqualmie Pass, which High Country News calls the "largest wildlife connectivity project you've never heard of."

Here's Politico's description:

Behind the roadkill you see on highways is really a bigger story: many major roads slice through prime wildlife habitat, cutting off animals’ traditional feeding grounds and migration routes. This either cuts populations off from each other, or forces animals to make the dangerous crossing. In a pioneering effort to fix this in Washington state, state and federal agencies have teamed up to build a set of culverts and vegetated bridges for wildlife along a 15-mile stretch of I-90 that runs through forested federal lands.

Will animals really use a network of critter crossings? Research on projects elsewhere suggests yes. “It takes them a few years to find the structures, and then eventually it just becomes an animal highway,” says Patty Garvey-Darda, a wildlife biologist at the US Forest Service.

The other project Politico recognizes is the lauded Solar Roadways:

In the U.S., an Idaho startup called Solar Roadways has gotten federal grants to test the concept of a roadway made of solar panels, but it’s a long way from reality: nobody knows if glass solar panels will have anywhere near the strength and durability needed to safely work as road surfaces.

We last reported on the project when the company was successful in a fundraising campaign, thanks in large part to Sulu. Otherwise known as George Takei. 

The article on Politico is part of a project called The Agenda, which has put out a dozen or so great articles on transportation.

They've written about our love affair with overpasses, hover cars and the Bank of Asphalt. 

Just read it already!