By Okechukwu Keshi Ukegbu
Every administration would like to leave a legacy behind. This is because attaining political positions could be attributed to the saying in some parlance of the proverbial iroko tree which the climber would endeavour to possess a branch as an evidence that he has attained the feat of climbing it The assumption here is that achieving such feat could only call in a life time.
One would be persuaded that thinking along this direction, that is why Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State decided to address some of the roads challenges in the state with rigid cement technology.
A critical question demands urgent address here. And that is what informed the governor’s choice? Put the other way round,what is the essence of this technology that attracted Gov. Ikpeazu to it?
Cement technology, also known as “Rigid Pavement Technology in road construction ensures the mixture of crush rock-based materials and other items to achieve a thickness fill and compaction to the level of 300mm. This is followed by a concrete reinforcement cast with 8mm to10mm-high tensil (mash of wires) reinforcement bars over the stabilised base before treating it with prime coat and asphaltic concrete.
Though the cost of this technology is higher than those of the conventional construction methods, Gov. Ikpeazu chooses this technology as a means of strengthening the load-bearing capacity of roads in Abia and to boost the strength and quality of the finished work.
The technology has a sustainability guarantee of10 to 20 years. Cement technology is one of the technologies used in the construction of airport runways, tarmac and places with heavy loads like machines and equipment. The technology is a good solution for achieving sustainable roads in Nigeria.
According to expert positions, while vehicles consume less fuel on concrete roads, concrete roads do not get damaged by the leaking oils from the vehicles or by the extreme weather conditions like excess rain or extreme heat. It has also been observed that the use of concrete for road construction has the added advantage of not creating potholes or craters that cause wet weather accidents.
The desirabilty of rigid cement technology in this season of economic recession cannot be over-emphasised. In the past we witnessed roads constructed that could not last one rainy season. We are currently operating a very harsh economy and it will not be ideal for the government to return to the roads which it has initially constructed before the next rainy season. These reasons and others justify the adoption of the rigid cement technology on some roads constructed in Abia.
