The government thought the Highways Agency are to try a new way of keeping roads in the UK free of ice.  A scheme know as Interseasonal Heat Transfer (IHT), uses the summer sunshine to heat water placed in plastic pipes just below the surface of the road in the summer when the temperature  is  hot. The water is then transferred to insulated pipes, where the temperature is maintained, in the winter when its cold, to prevent the roads freezing, warm water from the insulated pipes are transferred back to the original pipes, the warm water help prevent the road from freezing.

Scientist from the Transport Research Laboratory have worked on this scheme for two years, testing it our on little used road on section of the M1. The scheme is expected to be rolled out  on a small scale because of the significant cost of implementation which could take as long as 30 years to pay for itself.