Expert Tasks Govt On Road Master-Plan

A fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineer (NSE), Engr. John Igwe, says until the Federal Government strictly adheres to the master-plan for roads, it would continue to spend heavily on the rehabilitation and resurfacing of roads annually.

Engr. Igwe stated this in an interview with The Tide in Port Harcourt on Friday. According to him, roads across the country are constructed to last for 20 years, but these roads hardly last five years because of huge usage from heavy trucks, which were not meant for the roads, attributing lack of control over the loading usuage, and the defunct of the Nigerian Railways Corporation (NRC) to some of the reasons why the roads don’t last their life span.

He said unlike other developed countries of the world, 95 per cent of movements today in the country are done by road, while the remaining five per cent of transactions are done by air, rail and sea.

He, however, pointed out that the introduction of the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) has gone a long way in improving the maintenance of roads, saying that lack of inter-modal transportation system, which include rail, road, sea and air are contributing immensely to the myriads of challenges facing the country’s economics. He noted that if the right things were done, Nigerian roads would improve from its present pathetic state.

On the abandonment of the railways by successive governments in the country, he said that for the economy to improve, the corporation needs total capital and human investments, but explained that the needed change in the gauges of the trucks from narrow to standard guage system would take gradual phase.

“It is a pity that roads don’t last their lifespan and I want to tell you that the roads are constructed to last for 20 years in Nigeria, while in United Kingdom, they are constructed to last for 50 years. But why has ours not last their life span?

It is because of lack of adequate control over the loading usuage in Nigeria. In face some countries, there is a law on the tonnage of goods that can go by roads, but we don’t have that in place in Nigeria. Ordinarily, some goods like cement and fuel, are supposed to be carried by the rail, but you see them today moving on our roads without any challenge. Until this is done, I want to insist that we will continue to some challenges,” he opined.

He added that in order to improve the rail system, the Federal Government some few years ago approved a 25-year master- plan for the corporation, which he said, if judiciously followed, would go a long way in improving the transport system in the country.