- He ordered contractors to use lumps, sharp sand and stone base to form the base before laying of concrete or asphalt pavement.
- The development was contained in a statement signed by the Director (Information), Press and Public Relations of the Ministry, Lere-Adams Blessing, in Abuja, on Friday
The Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, has directed contractors working on federal highways to stop the use of laterite as a base in road construction.
Laterite is a residual product of rock decay that is red in color and has a high content in the oxides of iron and hydroxide of aluminum
The Minister issued this directive while during the inauguration of a committee for the supervision of the Reconstruction of Benin – Warri dual carriageway and the dualization of East – West Road, Port Harcourt – Onne Port junction road in River State.
He ordered contractors to use lumps, sharp sand and stone base to form the base before laying of concrete or asphalt pavement.
The development was contained in a statement signed by the Director (Information), Press and Public Relations of the Ministry, Lere-Adams Blessing, in Abuja, on Friday.
According to her, Umahi noted that laterite has a limited load bearing capacity, susceptible to erosion and weathering especially in areas with heavy rainfall and this can lead to degradation of the road surface overtime, maintenance challenge and does not last long.
She quoted the Miniater as saying, “We are giving very serious attention to the roads between Benin and Warri. The road between Eleme and Onne Port, we are mindful of the site conditions of these roads, the water conditions and the boreholes instead of pot holes on these roads.
“No more laterite, contractors are now to use lumps, sharp sand and stone base in place of laterite”
The Minister also directed the newly inaugurated Road Taskforce Team that there must be a continuous maintenance of all the roads under construction until the end of the project.
He implored them to ensure that the contractors are duly informed of the development, and that they should remember that the ministry is under a matching order given by Mr. President,
to fix Nigerian roads for the citizens to have ease of movement from one location to the other.
Umahi said, “The committee must implement the contract agreement with maintenance culture as key. Committee members are to monitor the contractors closely to make sure things are done right.
“Our contractors can now understand that we are not insisting that things have to change without a reason, but that the society is demanding for sustainability and integrity of the work they are doing”.