Recently, The Herald Online-Zimbabwe, Africa, reported on the road conditions in the area and the urgent need for concrete paving. Zimbabwe’s urban road network is in a deplorable state. In the capital city of Harare, and other cities and towns, roads are littered with potholes, which have become a nightmare to motorists. Almost all roads in Zimbabwe’s urban and rural areas need urgent attention. Failure to maintain the Zimbabwe road network has a huge bearing on socio-economic development. It contributes to a country’s failure to achieve or surpass its potential.
Incessant rains have worsened the roads situation with observers calling upon authorities to come up with lasting solutions to fix the road network. Council now strongly feels that concrete roads are the solution, as they are stronger than those made using bitumen. Analysts concur that the use of concrete to make the roads could be Zimbabwe’s panacea for potholes.
Most of the country’s roads, surfaced with asphalt (bitumen or tar) have proven to be failing to last more than 10 years. Billy Mukasa, Infrastructure Consultancy Engineer, said the viability of concrete pavements should be looked at particularly now that the country’s manufacturing sector produces cement more than average national needs. He added that concrete roads were durable with a life span of more than 40 years and did not require frequent repair or patching work like bitumen roads.
Mr. Mukasa said, “Concrete pavements have been found to be durable and last longer than bituminous roads. The time has come for Zimbabwe to 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. Besides, advancements in concrete technology have reduced the cost of concrete paving while improving performance greatly. Looking from a Zimbabwean context, the materials required for concrete roads are locally available and therefore tend to be a cheaper option comparing to bitumen roads wherein its material is imported. Unlike asphalt 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.”
The Harare City Council believes that the new road surfacing method would save money in the long run. Phillip Pfukwa, Eng., Council Director of Works, said the new concrete roads were more durable compared to traditional asphalt roads, and are resistant to harsh conditions. “They have been used in very wet countries and places that are marshy. Their durability in those conditions show that they can work well in Zimbabwe. It seems the concrete roads are the best reprieve for the cash-strapped council as they do not require closely knitted maintenance operations,” Eng. Pfukwa said.
Mrs. Josephine Ncube, Acting Town Clerk, said they were moving to concrete roads. “We will be introducing our first concrete roads very soon. We are going to start with Arcturus Road before spreading to other areas, and I believe we have the requisite skill in council. Concrete roads require low maintenance and the advantage we have is that we have capacity as there is a lot of cement readily available in the country as compared to bitumen which we are currently importing from South Africa at higher prices. Research indicated that well-designed concrete roads require little or no maintenance well beyond their 40-year design lives,” she said.
The Zimbabwe National Roads Administration (ZINARA) is pushing for the adoption of concrete cement as a possible alternative for asphalt to ensure longevity of the country’s road infrastructure that has deteriorated over the years. Major roads feeding into the city like Second Street Extension, Seke, Chiremba, and Simon Mazorodze Roads are now littered with potholes. The Harare-Beitbridge road is in a sorry state, needing urgent repaving as heavy traffic is a common sight on the highway. Lack of funding has stalled the project for years.
Mr Albert Mugabe, ZINARA Board Chairman, said concrete was a suitable alternative for asphalt and road planners should also look into other materials which could assist in stabilizing the country’s 90,000-km road network. “In Zimbabwe, roads are predominantly asphalt, while in other parts of the world other materials are being used to make pavements such as concrete. I urge our engineers to look at the various materials at our disposal, which can become an alternative solution to our construction, just as concrete is an alternative to bitumen. If we could have companies who can come up with innovative ideas, we would be keen on adopting the ideas because constructing our roads with the strongest material is more prudent than trying to fix them—the cost will be high.”
Mr. Shingai Kawadza, Harare-Based Town Planner said, “The time has come when Zimbabwe 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. Concrete roads are the future and the way to go because they have been found to be durable and lasting longer than bituminous roads. Although the cost may be high in the short run, it will be economical in the long term given the increasing capacity of cement companies in the country.”
Mr. Kawadza lamented that the country’s dilapidated roads have become death traps, while the economic cost to the nation was becoming too high. He added there was justification to use concrete roads as most developed countries, and some African countries, have embraced concrete roads, migrating away from high-maintenance asphalt roads—notably, Malawi, Ethiopia and South Africa. “Most nations worldwide are replacing asphalt roads with concrete roads. A typical example is the 24k-m road in Lagos (Nigeria) and is considered to be one of the strongest roads in Lagos. Globally, an interesting example is the road linking Hanover and Berlin in Germany which was built during WWII, and is still in good shape,” he said.
Mr. Rex Titus, Technical Support Engineer, Lafarge-Holcim, said, “Most road contractors have failed to ensure a longer life span of the country’s roads due to use of cheap material and not ensuring quality from every stage of road construction, hence potholes have become a normal phenomenon in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe needs to work at improving the life span of its roads, and the best is to use the latest technology in road construction, adapt to the latest standards without copying designs from other countries which do not apply here due to climate, among other factors.”
He also urged the industry to adopt soil stabilization techniques, as most of the country’s roads were prone to bleeding because soils were not stable. “Soil stabilization is treating the soil to achieve the proper mechanical strength, using cement and lime to strengthen it so that the roads can be able to handle heavy traffic,” he explained.
To read the entire article, please go to: http://www.herald.co.zw/concrete-way-out-for-zim-roads/.