The Choice of Reinforcement and Its Impact on Project Cost: A Case study of mild steel and fabric reinforcements in road construction

Abstract

Roads and Highways are vital lifelines. Roads are needed for accessibility and for transporting of people, goods and services.  Roads are therefore needed for socio-economic purposes. This research aims at assessing the choice of reinforcement and its impact on Construction cost in road construction. The objectives were as follows; to determine the initial cost of pavements constructed using fabric (mesh) reinforcement and mild steel rods respectively, to compare the differences in construction cost between pavements constructed using fabric reinforcement and mild steel rods, to determine the cost implications of using the two types of reinforcement in road construction. The use of fabric (mesh) reinforcement will result in potential savings of GH¢559,650.00 per kilometre which represents a savings of 41.826%.  Hence fabric (mesh) reinforcement is cheaper than mild steel rod in road construction

Keywords: Roads, Highway, Reinforcement, Project.