Endeavour to keep roads in good condition

A training workshop for contractors and engineers working with the Department of Urban Roads has taken place in Kumasi.

At the workshop, the Director in charge of Monitoring and Evaluation of the Urban Roads Department, Mr I. B. Armah,made it clear that contractors working on patching potholes who do not use the prescribed materials and follow laid-down procedures for fixing potholed-roads would not be paid for work done.

The move, he said, was to ensure that the nation got value for money and also achieved an increased lifespan for the repaired roads. Moreover, he said the decision was taken to avoid situations where roads that were rehabilitated got damaged again soon after.

He said recent studies conducted by the Urban Roads showed that a number of contractors had deviated from the laid-down steps for patching roads and were rather using unconventional methods in their work, which was compounding the damage already done to the roads. 

He mentioned some of the standardised and acceptable procedures as marking out the bad portions of the roads with white paint and taking pictures before and after fixing the affected areas after repair works were completed.

Six Months

There was also the need to use prescribed materials and appropriate technology. He said it was also required of the contractor to make sure that the patched holes lived beyond a mandatory six months period. 

Mr Armah said the procedures, if duly followed, would enable the Department  of Urban Roads to trace the repaired roads and determine whether they were properly repaired or not.

Advice 

He said another phenomenon that was causing serious damage to roads in the country and which was also contributing to grievous accidents was the irresponsible use of roads by drivers.

He wondered for instance, why in the full glare of local authorities some drivers are allowed to turn road junctions and bus stops into taxi and trotro loading stations, washing bays and fitting shops.

Static loads

He said roads were designed and made “for dynamic loads and not for static loads,” so if drivers pack at unauthorised places they exert undue pressure on that portion of the road leading to a reduction in its lifespan and eventually to its  destruction. 

Mr Armah said, another disturbing problem was when water and oil were continually allowed to drip from vehicles that were being washed and those that have broken down. He said these liquids in copious volumes destroyed roads.  

Regional Director

He, therefore, urged stakeholders in the road sector, that is, district, metropolitan and municipal assemblies, the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTU) of the Ghana Police Service, the National Road Safety Commission and the Ghana Road Transport Commission to bring these disturbing issues under control.

The Ashanti Regional Director of the Department of Urban Roads , Mr Theodore Quaye, also urged Ghanaians, particularly those living close to roads and others who use the roads, to take good care of them for them to have a long lifespan.

He said if roads were kept in good condition, the government would have extra money to construct more roads instead of spending scarce resources on repair works.