Opting for concrete roads and highways

The recent government decision to use concrete casting, instead of bitumen, in the construction as well as operations and maintenance of roads and highways is otherwise a proactive move. Not totally spared of criticism, this decision, one must agree, is overwhelmingly positive and hence should not be dismissed on speculative logic reliant mostly on 'ifs'. There are quarters who believe that despite the cost-intensive nature of implementing the decision, it is a huge watershed in the construction and maintenance culture of the country's roads, especially the highways. A recent report in this newspaper, quoting official sources, says the process of transforming/converting the existing bituminous roads and highways into concrete ones would cost no less than Tk 100 billion. On the flip side of the cost part comes the far longer life span of concrete roads, coupled with lesser maintenance cost than that involving bitumen. Understandably, it is the latter that has motivated the government to opt for rigid concrete roads, instead of the flexible bitumen ones, which, for the most part, are its liability as well as a cause for persistent public sufferings.
Despite the cost involved in the conversion process, one strongly feels that the bituminous roads across the country, because of their high susceptibility to rains and floods, are a recurrent source of much of the perils suffered by all concerned. This is mainly due to the need for frequent maintenance. The agencies concerned cannot afford to do this because of the dearth of funds. In fact, maintenance, as an integral factor for sustaining a construction work, barely figures with adequate prominence in the country's budgetary provisions. This being the case, parting with a very large expenditure on maintenance is not at all a bad idea. This is because saving on this account would eventually auger well with the initial costs. Moreover, the concrete roads that are believed to be resistant to rain and occasional flooding, offers the prospect of durability.
Experts, while endorsing the decision of conversion, have warned that necessary surveys and studies are a must before any major nationwide conversion work is undertaken. But contrary to expert opinions, the concerned agencies including the Roads and Highways Department (RHD), the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) and city corporations, 'pourshavas' (municipal authorities) that are responsible for building roads at national, regional, zila (district) and upazila (sub-district) levels as also in cities  across the country have, according to reports, already started road-conversion projects, though on a small scale. On an average, 10-15 per cent of the roads within the operational domain of these agencies are reportedly being built by using concrete casting. This, most observers agree, should not be the case as concrete casting being an altogether new method might be fraught with many unforeseen hazards if proper pre-construction studies/ surveys are not done.
Furthermore, such observers are of the view that once the pre-construction study is done, the quality of the roads would depend a lot on the  efficiency of engineers and contractors at all stages of work in order to ensure the desired level of benefit from concrete casting. Given the technicalities involved with the job beside the large amount of funds, the conversion should take care of all precautions and requirements for achieving the ultimate goal.