Durability of roads depends on maintenance and proper use

Regular inspection and maintenance of roads as well as strict enforcement of regulations on their use are crucial to ensuring the durability and longevity of roads in Ghana.
Mr Klaus D. Breuer, Chief Resident Engineer of China Water and Electric Company, a road construction company stressed this point in an answer to questions on Thursday by members of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Roads and Transport, regarding the longevity of the 20.4 kilometre Sogakope-Akatsi highway project being undertaken by the company.
He said the project was costing the country GH¢197.69 billion and was 90 percent complete.
Mr Breurer said the company was carrying out the work to last for at least 15 years but that would depend on how it was used and maintained.
“Excuse me to say that the road will not last if there is no regular maintenance and enforcement”, Mr Klaus said.

“Drive along the road once in a month to discover and repair damages before they become serious problems”, he recommended.

Mr Breurer also drew attention to the need to check how drivers were using the road and to enforce axle load regulations, which in Ghana, is 13 tonnes.

He observed that much of the damages on roads in the country were due to accidents and flouting of road use regulations by drivers.
“Overloading can destroy the road fast”, Mr Breurer cautioned.
Mr Emmanuel K. Twumasi, Director Monitoring and Evaluation of the Ministry of Road and Transport said the responsibility for enforcement of road use regulations is a collective one.
He said it was therefore important that all road users showed keen interest on how the country's roads were being used.
Mr Twumasi said since the road agencies would not be around always, it was a civic duty of citizens to report any occasion of wrong use of the roads to those agencies for action to be taken.
“Regrettably, we all look away and refuse to check each other on the roads”, he said.