Evaluating the Causes of the Road Failure of Onitsha-Enugu Expressway, Southeastern Nigeria.

Abstract

Considering the persistence of road failure along the Onitsha -Enugu expressway and many other roads in the southeastern Nigeria, this work was conceived with the aim of evaluating the causes of the road failure in other to help marshal out effective and efficient measures of tackling this problem of road failure. The study adopted a survey design which employed the use of a well structured questionnaire to gather information on the causes and effects of the road failure. To determine the sample size, volumetric analysis was used and the data so generated was analyzed using One-way Analysis of Variance and Post HOC test. The ANOVA shows the variation among the causes is not significantly different while the Post HOC test ranked the causative factors treated. The work thus concluded that all the factors listed contribute to the failure of the road with inadequate maintenance, mismanagement by the government and old age of the road pavement being the major factors. The work therefore recommends that there should be Quality Determination for materials during construction, Effective Maintenance Programme (routine or preventive maintenance, periodic maintenance, and disaster maintenance or major repairs of our roads) and Establishment of an Active Maintenance Crew.