FG urged to introduce concrete roads in S’South due to peculiar terrain

The Vice President, Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria, Prof. Charles Uko, has called on the Federal Government to utilise rigid pavement in the construction of roads in the South-South region of the country due to its peculiar terrain.

The slip form of concrete pavement design is being introduced into the construction of the 20-kilometre product evacuation road by the United Cement Company of Nigeria Limited. It is said to last longer in difficult terrains.

Uko, who is of the Department of Structural Engineering, University of Uyo, said the paved concrete design should be used for the construction of roads in the region as against the conventional flexible asphalt type as a result of its durability for several decades.

He spoke last week at the headquarters of the UniCem in Calabar, when he led civil engineering students from the University of Uyo and Akwa Ibom University of Science and Technology on an educational visit to the cement evacuation road.

He said, “It is time for us to begin to go into superior paved concrete roads instead of the cheap flexible asphalt road that will not last. In actual sense, the cost difference between the rigid pavement and flexible asphalt road is not more than 15 to 20 per cent.

“The Federal Government should introduce the rigid pavement in the construction of the Calabar-Itu road due to the terrain that is the same in the entire South-South region. It will make the road last longer.”

Uko said the excursion, which was meant to expose the students to practical knowledge of engineering, was also part of an ongoing research to test the quality of seven cement brands in Nigeria.

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The students, numbering 60, were introduced to the various technical components of the 20km road being constructed by UniCem engineers.

Speaking earlier, the Marketing Director, UniCem, Mr. Vipul Agrawal, said the company was paving three kilometres of the road with concrete, which he described as being more durable than asphalt.

Agrawal explained that the slip form of paving construction was the first of its kind in Nigeria, stressing that though it was more expensive than asphalt, the cost of maintenance was less, which made it cheaper in the long run compared to asphalt.

He said UniCem adopted the approach to showcase the advantages of rigid pavement as against flexible pavement in road construction (as in the case of asphalt), particularly in swampy and difficult terrains.