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A major problem Nigeria has battled with dated back to her independence day in 1960 is road infrastructure.
The poor road networks over the years have not only adversely affected movements of persons from place to place, but also made transportation of goods and services difficult from the rural and hinterlands to where they are needed in the urban centres, and vice versa.
As a result of these, perishable goods mostly get spoiled and wasted year in year out across the country with great consequences for the Nigerian economy.
There is no doubt that government after government have allocated so much money for road infrastructural development with very little result to show.
Most roads constructed in the country hardly last to justify the money spent on them as they begin to wear out with many spotting potholes just few months after their construction.
Sadly, most of the roads in Nigeria over the years were made with asphalts, which "bend" or "deflect" due to traffic loads and frequent uses.
Other types of road surfaces used in Nigeria included concrete roads, which is made by blending cement, sand, coarse aggregate, and water, and the Macadam (WBM) roads, which are constructed by compacting multiple layers of crushed stone aggregates.
But the road constructions gaining popularity globally are those made with concrete pavement.
Those embracing concrete pavement roads believed it has proven durability, reduced maintenance cost, lower carbon footprint, recyclability, ease of construction, and safety benefits.
Apart from its advantage of local material, concrete pavement road is said to deliver superior value, performance and a lower environmental impact.
It is also considered advantageous over asphalt road due to its life cycle cost, wear-resistance, sustainability, and maintenance management.
The textures of concrete pavement road is engineered to stay smooth and quiet throughout a pavement's life, which enables a better and safer grip and touch point for vehicles' tyres.
It also helps lower vehicle emissions, and reflect more solar radiation than alternative roads like asphalt.
As a key enabler of development in urban and rural areas, concrete pavement road could also enable in-transport charging of electric vehicles and all-weather traveling surface that benefits a range of vehicles (cars, trucks, buses, bicycles) and users (commuters, commercial motor carriers, delivery and service providers, local users, leisure travelers).
While it has estimated life of 30-50 years, low maintenance cost, maintaining good riding quality over its full life, some of the disadvantages of concrete pavement road are higher initial cost, frequent mud pumping issues and requirement for skilled personnel for its construction.
Another type of road especially used in India is plastic roads.
The country has been using plastic waste to build roads since 2006.
The innovative approach in India has helped to recycle plastic waste and reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
There, plastic waste is mixed with heated bitumen, and the mixture subsequently poured over stones and used to build roads.
But the disadvantages of Plastic road include limited availability of recycled plastic material to make the roads, initial cost of the technology to manufacture plastic roads is higher compared to traditional road construction methods, and limited load-bearing capacity compared to traditional asphalt and concrete roads.
With the known advantages of concrete pavement roads, it is a welcome development that Nigeria's Honourable Minister of Work, Sen. (Engr.) David Nweze Umahi, has recently insisted on the use of concrete pavement for some Nigerian roads.
According to him, the adoption of Continuous Reinforcement Concrete Pavement (CRCP) technology on some roads in the country is the best thing that can happen to Nigeria.
He pointed out that such concrete pavement roads are the panacea to flood-prone areas and terrains having high water tables, which have had great adverse effects on other tyres of roads in the country.
The Minister speaking on Tuesday, 18th February, 2025, during an inspection of the ongoing reconstruction of a 2.46-kilometre Special Intervention Project on the East-West Road in Delta State (CH.28+400-CH.50+300), being handled by M/S Truetech Global Investment Services Limited, while noting Mr President’s determination to ensure that the roads along economic corridors of the nation get adequate priority, the Minister expressed his satisfaction with the quality of the job being done on concrete.
“Concrete is good for areas that experience double rainfall maxima. Roads built with concrete will last between fifty (50) to hundred (100) years, while asphaltic ones will fall within ten (10) years. Concrete is the solution to flood-density roads,” the Minister stated
While the focus is getting higher and higher on concrete pavement roads, it is hoped that this will really help to break the jinx of frequent road problems in Nigeria.
To be among the top nations of the world, good road infrastructure, among other facilities, must be in place in the country.
Also knowing the great roles roads play in our socio-economic life, everything must be done to get it right this time around.
With durable roads in place across the country, money frequently used to repair and maintain roads will now go to other meaningful uses in the country.
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