Solar roads get a green light - Spending an hour with Scott Brusaw, of Sagle, just might convince you that eliminating the nation's reliance on fossil fuels is not only possible, but likely.

This is good "outside-the-box" thinking but the task is a bit more formidable than it sounds.  The fly in the ointment is keeping it clean and keeping damages repaired along with the questions of what the textured glass and angle to the sun do to the collection efficiency.  Traffic on textured glass will generate a lot of rubber dust in addition to dust from other sources and the oil and grime from traffic. 

To get rid of fossil fuels, there is also the question of energy storage for nighttime and heavy cloud cover days.

What about building solar panel covers over roadways?  Easy access for construction, still have dust to contend with but not so much oil and other dust binding contaminants although exhausts will still be an issue, the panels could be tilted to a more appropriate angle, maintenance will not interfere with traffic (as badly), less damage from heavy objects, no special reinforcement, no texturing needed, highway ROW for cables.