Structural engineers endorse concrete roads, say they are durable, cost effective

The Nigerian Institution of Structural Engineers (NISTRUCTE) has called on the government to switch over to the use of concrete for road construction.
The engineers made this submission at their just-concluded 28th Annual Conference in Abuja, with the theme: ‘Structural Engineering Excellence in an Environment inundated with Collapse’.
President of the Institution, Samuel Ilugbekhai, an engineer, said: “Concrete pavements have been found durable and last longer than bitumenous roads. The time has come when Nigeria should step up the use of concrete for roads, especially now that the country has increased its potential to produce cement at lower prices and even exporting to other countries.’
He regretted that the country’s dilapidated roads have become death traps and the economic cost to the nation is becoming too high.
In his speech also, Vice President of the Institution, Eddy Atumonyogo, also an engineer, stated: “Concrete pavements are very good because they last longer and can be used for busy roads, especially in state capitals.
Speaking in the same vein, the Deputy President, Oreoluwa Fadayomi, said concrete pavements have been in use all along but that the difference now is that the conversation may shift to adopting it to replace bitumen totally.
Aliyu Aziz Abubakar, a Vice-President of the Institution, said the viability of concrete pavements should be looked at as the country’s manufacturing sector now produces cement more than the average national need.
Speaking earlier, the Chairman of Sea Dredge Construction Company, Ayo Folorunsho, said concrete roads are the future and the way to go, even though the cost may be high on the short run, it will be economical on the long term given the increasing capacity of cement companies in Nigeria.
He said more people die from bad roads than collapsed buildings, urging the country to take the issue of concrete pavements more seriously.
President Muhammadu Buhari who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Works, Mr. D.S. Kigbu, called on Structural Engineers to champion what he called ‘structural integrity and reliability.’
He regretted the number of Nigerians dying as a result of bad structures and tasked the engineers to step up action to put an end to collapse of structures and other engineering problems.
The President of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Isaac Ademola Olorunfemi, who was represented by Olatunde Akinteye, said the Society was considering an Infrastructural Scorecard for states in the country to ginger governments in their developmental strides.
He said the country’s engineers have a lot to do in guaranteeing the safety of Nigerians.
A former president of the Institution and Principal Partner of Civil Sphere Consult, Ike Nkem Chukwuneke, said structural engineering excellence can be attained through public safety in the use of engineering facilities.