On Thursday, the Minister of Works, Sen Dave Umahi, denied using substandard materials to expand the Akure-Ondo-Ore express road.
Umahi noted that President Bola Tinubu committed the Federal Ministry of Works to continue delivering good, safe, and cost-effective roads throughout the country.
President Tinubu awarded the contract to CBC Nigeria Limited on July 29th, 2024, for N134bn. Because of the terrain, CBC Nigeria Limited will use concrete.
However, a viral video on Facebook last week accused the ministry and the contractor of using different materials to construct the same road.
In the video, a complainant accused the contractor of using wire mesh on the outer shoulders instead of the same heavy reinforcement used on the carriageway.
The minister said, “There is a functional difference between the main carriageway and the outer shoulder.
So there are also structural differences in their construction.”
Umahi, represented by the Federal Controller of Works in Ondo State, Engr. Hussein Olajide explained,
“The main carriageway is the central part of the road pavement, and it is used for continuous traffic, hefty traffic loads running constantly. We have trailers, trucks, buses, and other articulated vehicles. Therefore, it experiences high flexural stresses and must be designed to counter these forces.
“The outer shoulder, on the other hand, is expected to carry only occasional loads—maybe for diversions, maybe when a vehicle breaks down and needs to be removed from the main carriageway to aid the continuation of traffic, or for short stops to pick up and drop off passengers. So it doesn’t experience this continuous axle load and is designed with minimal reinforcement.”
Flanked by the contractor, Mr Li Wei, Umahi said, “The use of A142 wire mesh, which you have seen on the outer shoulder, is a standard practice worldwide. In Nigeria and internationally, it is a standard practice. We use heavy reinforcement on the carriageway because of the flexural stresses, and we use light wire meshes on the outer shoulders because they don’t carry as much load.”
He added, “Going nationwide to all our single-carriageway rigid road constructions, you will find a similar design. It is not peculiar to the Ore-Ondo-Akure Road or Ondo State. It is a highway standard found in Nigeria and internationally.
