By Sunday Okoli
The Anambra State government has given instructions to contractors handling various road projects in the state on basic standards they should adopt to solve the problems of road failures.
The Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Arc. Okey Ezeobi disclosed this during a meeting with contractors handling various road projects in the state at his office on July 24.
The instructions state that Anambra State Materials Testing Laboratory must take samples of materials for road construction and certify them before they can be used on our roads, that there must be adequate compaction before laying of stone base, that approvals must be gotten from his office before laying of stone base.
“No asphalt should be done on any of our sites within this rainy season, and, especially for those handling dualization projects, compaction will be carried out even before the medians are done.
“We are moving from site to site, extracting samples of the materials used for the road construction works. Nobody needs to inform you in advance that we are coming, because we want to obtain samples independently and test them to determine their suitability for the road project.
“Once we take a sample from one road pit and complete the testing process, we move to another road pit. This practice will not happen again without proper verification. The material must first be tested and approved by us before it can be used on the project”, the Commissioner said.
Ezeobi added that at the project site, compaction tests were being carried out on the sub-base. And that the results must be satisfactory before the contractor would proceed with laying the stone base.
“You may bring samples for testing. That is not a problem. However, you must also provide a sample of the stone base material for our examination. We will inspect and test the stone base because we all understand that it has a specific composition and component requirements.
There is an approved composition for the stone base, and the material you intend to use must meet those approved specifications. Therefore, you must ensure that the composition of the stone base conforms to the approved standard before it is used on the project”, he said.
The commissioner went on to explain that quality of the aggregate was extremely important. Noting that the aggregate impact value and carry out the necessary laboratory analysis, because these tests help determine the composition and suitability of the stone base.
“We must be very careful about the quality of the stone base being supplied. Some materials may contain an excessive amount of dust—almost 40 percent in some cases. That is not the type of stone base we want to use on our roads.
“We will establish the required standard and provide the approved composition and specifications before any stone base material is transported to the project site. Contractors must comply with the approved composition.
“The same principle applies to the paving and compaction process. If the design requires a particular thickness of pavement, then after compaction, the final layer must achieve the specified thickness.
“That is one of the key reasons for using a paver. A paver provides a uniform and consistent thickness during the laying process. Therefore, engineers must be able to determine, based on the quality and composition of the stone base, the appropriate thickness to lay so that the required final thickness is achieved after compaction. We will not accept a situation where the contractor lays a material to the required thickness but, after compaction, the thickness is significantly reduced and falls below the design requirement.
The objective is to achieve the full designed thickness after compaction. If the design requires a particular thickness, then the completed and compacted pavement must achieve that thickness. It cannot be less.
The pavement has been designed to meet a specific standard, and that standard must be achieved. There will be no compromise on the required thickness, material quality, or compaction level”, he said.
Mr. Commissioner directed that all the contractors must sign out the instructions and use it as a guide going forward in all their road construction works in the state.
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Engr. Dr. Martin Agbili admonished the contractors to follow strictly the instructions handed over to them by the Ministry. He said that it’s no longer business as usual as people must be held responsible for not doing the right things.
Sunday Okoli is of the Ministry of information and Value Reformation, Anambra State
