A Visit to Road Construction Site

Road construction is one of the capital intensive projects in the executive bill.
In Nigeria such project is either undertaken by the Federal government or by the State government with support from the World bank. It is rarely done by the local government council.
But with the recent signing of the local government autonomy into law by the Federal government, it is obvious that the local government council will start to receive funds to execute their own road project.
Being at a construction site gives a clue of what is transpires when building a road is concerned. The handling is done by a construction firm or company which may be Local, National, multinational and International.
Contract is awarded to the company based on reputations or because of the previous work done(recommendations).

Before the actual construction commences, there must be a prepared planning survey that will enable the construction Company to determine it's preparedness for the job and the mapping of the area. This takes the form of:

Geotechnical and soil survey

Geotechnical and soil analysis is done to check whether the soil is stable and suitable and to avoid issues like landslides or frost heave.

Analysis of the Topography of the area

When the topographical analysis is done, it to find out the landscape to check for elevation changes; sloping, natural features like hills, rivers, lakes etc and it's potential impact on the road construction and design.

Selection of route

The result of the road survey gives the construction engineers clue for cost-effective and most suitable route for the new road, taking factors like traffic pattern, terrain and environmental impact into consideration.

Environmental impact assessment studies

What will be the effects of the road construction on wildlife and the ecosystem. This is also taken into consideration before embarking on the project.

Planning and Design

After gathering the survey data, engineers are now informed about the road design along with it's alignment, drainage slope and many other designing features to be included.

Actual Construction

During the actual construction, the survey data are used to ensure the correct placement of the road, it's features and it's adherence to the design.

Potential future development

When surveying a road, it is better to consider how the road will accommodate future traffic or other changes in the immediate surrounding or environment.

Road Construction Equipments

Some common road construction machines include;

Excavator:

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An excavator is classified under earthmoving machines. It is used for digging the soil, removing rocks and getting rid of debris in the construction site.

Wheel loader:

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It is used for material handling as well as loading equipment onto trucks.

Dump Trucks:

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This is used at the site for transporting materials like gravels, sand and asphalt to the road construction site.

Motor Grader:

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This equipment is used for smoothing and leveling of gravel or dirt road.

Bulldozer:

This heavy machine is used for the levelling and grading of the ground.

Still under earthmoving and general use machines we have; Folklifts, Backhoe loaders.
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Others under Compacting and Paving equipments include; Asphalt pavers, Road rollers, Compactors.
Still, other equipment are classified under material Handling and processing, which include: Asphalt mixing plant
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Concrete mixer, Cold planers etc.

Working at a construction site needs some quality and skilled personnel. Such qualities and Skills needed to succeed at site are:
(a) Coordinating ability
(b) Instructions adherence
(c) Being able to work as a team
(d) Ability to work independently
(e) Being adapted to work in fast-paced environment
(f) Being able to operate heavy equipment
(g) Having ability to use hand tools
(h) An ability to read and understand blueprint.
Possession of the above mentioned abilities/qualities and other useful working attitudes makes one to excel and succeed as a road construction worker.

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