Towards ensuring sustainable roads in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, an expert in road construction, Engr. Mark Daso Derefaka, says the best option is what he called perforated drains, popularly called French Drains.
Engr Derefaka, who made this known recently in his lecture titled, “Popular Participation in Promoting Sustainable Rural Roads in Niger Delta”, stated that the reason for this option was due to the type of soil and impact of the wheather on roads in the region.
“There are many factors that affect our roads, these include, but not limited to flooding caused by rainfall, river overflow and underground water”, he said.
According to him, these factors at the end of the day, cause a lot of saturation on the roads’ general structure, especially when the road is submerged in a period of time ranging from two to three months.
“For roads in such situation, the various parameters used for road designs such as CBR, MDD, etc., could not be very effective”, he explained.
Consequently, beyond the consideration of known and acceptable parameters for road construction, there is the need to “think out of the box to bring out a suitable design and construction method that will be effective” in the Niger Delta region.
“We are therefore suggesting that perforated drains (French Drains) could be considered in the construction of these roads”, he said.
According to him, it entails placing the French Drains “across the road length at specific intervals as is done for Culverts, but not determined by the topography”, in such a way that it does not affect the actual culvert constructions, “which is determined by the topography”.
Additionally, Derefaka continued, “all roads in this region must have two-side drains for effective discharge of water”.
The road construction expert, who was the guest lecturer at this year’s 3rd Rivers and Bayelsa Conference and Annual General Meeting of the Nigerian Institute of Highway and Transport Engineers, therfore recommended considerations for design and construction of roads in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region.
By: Soibi Max-Alalibo & Beauty David-West.
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