Northumberland A1 to be first road resurfaced with a revolutionary material

The A1 in Northumberland will be the first road to be resurfaced with a revolutionary material.

National Highways will be trialling the use of graphene - a material stronger than steel - to see if it prolongs the road's lifespan.

Resurfacing will take place along 3 miles of the northbound carriageway between Newton on the Moor and West Cawledge from the 19th September to the 1st November.

National Highways Asset Needs Manager, Graeme Watt said:  "Laboratory trials have been a success and the on-site trials in Northumberland will be a world first use of graphene in road production.

"Graphene's benefits are industry-changing. It's stronger than steel and adding it to other materials can turn them into super materials. From what we've seen so far, it could make some of our assets last significantly longer."

• What is Graphene?

Graphene is the name for a single sheet of carbon atoms, arranged in a honeycomb pattern.

It is the building block of graphite - pencil lead - and is an incredibly strong, conductive and flexible material.

It can be used in a wide range of applications, from aerospace engineering to digital electronics and biomedicine. 

To carry out the resurfacing safely, the northbound carriageway will be closed 24/7 - traffic will be temporarily running in a contraflow, on the southbound carriageway.

A number of crossovers will be closed and clearly signed diversions will be in place. 

More details on the scheme can be found on the National Highways website.