Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1. Overview of the study area(Satellite) .............................................................. 8
Figure 2. Overview of the study area(drone)...8
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1. Flood Recurrence Interval(Years) In Relation to Design Life & Probability
of Failure (Megahan, 1977).16
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ABSTRACT
The content of this report entails the identification of one of the major
problems in my community. The report describes the nature of the roads the
Pokuasi community faces. It also describes the problems the residents of the
community face due to the poor drainage conditions. It identifies the
possible causes of these problems and the effects it has on the society. The
identification process includes a wide array of methods undertaken to gather
enough data that buttresses my view on why poor roads is a dire problem in
my community. An in-depth report is made on how the drainage systems are
designed and the optimum requirements to be considered when construction
takes place. A review on how the roads would be constructed is also
discussed.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
First and foremost, I give thanks to the Almighty God for seeing me through
this project. I acknowledge my father, Ing. Kwabena Bempong, for his
professional advice and access to the various tools and equipment I required.
I would also like to thank Ing. Richard Gamadeku of Associated Consultants
Limited, who provided me with various details on drainage design as well as
recommended materials for further research on the problem.
My heartfelt gratitude goes to my well learned supervisors, Dr. Helen
Essandor and Dr. John Kponyo, for all their help, advice and clarification of
problems I met along the way.
I am also grateful for the cooperation of all the community members.
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1.0. INTRODUCTION
My objectives are:
a) To promote and encourage the safe use of roads by all classes of road users
through the circulation of advice, information and knowledge gained from
research
b) To improve upon the drainage conditions of the community
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2.0. MATERIALS AND METHODS
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3.0. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Most of the vegetation is cultivated on top of the hills, the most popularly
cultivated crop being corn. Yet still other crops such as groundnut, okro,
kontommire and so on are also cultivated by some residents close to their
residential places.
The community is home to the African Concrete Products Limited, ACP Estates,
the Total Filling Station, Citydia Mall and various small- scale enterprises. The
study community is about 22.3 km from the Central Business District and about
22.6 km from Nsawam.
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Figure 1. Overview of the study area(Satellite)
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Figure 3. Overview of the study area(drone)
Now the problem of drainage spans over a large portion of my community. Most
of the drains adjacent to the roads are unprofessionally constructed and thus are
bereft of the adequate dimensions needed to contain the volume of water that is
shed from the road and adjoining areas when there is rainfall. Apart from that,
most of these makeshift drains are filled with silt and sand and causes severe
flooding on the roads, especially the Kwabenya-Pokuasi road. The incidence of
flooding is even more prominent when there is heavy rainfall especially at the
outfalls of these drains. The water spills over unto the road causing skidding of
tires due to aquaplaning. (Aquaplaning or hydroplaning by the tires of
a road vehicle, aircraft or other wheeled vehicle occurs when a layer
of water builds between the wheels of the vehicle and the road surface, leading to
a loss of traction that prevents the vehicle from responding to control inputs. If it
occurs to all wheels simultaneously, the vehicle becomes, in effect, an
uncontrolled sled). This causes numerous accidents during the rainy season.
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Furthermore, the wave of water rushing down the slopes of the area causes
erosion of the soil which further deposits debris at the base of the hills. This causes
most of the inhabitants to start construction of their houses at the top of the hills
which are reinstated. These quarry sites have been backfilled with materials which
were not compacted. It is possible therefore, that with time the materials will
consolidate and the buildings on them are likely to suffer structural damages such
as settlement and cracks.
In Fig.5 the runoff of water on the slopes of some parts of my community creates
deep gulleys in the sides of the roads as the water cuts a path for flowing down the
hills. Left unchecked, these create deep gullies around the road which make it
increasingly dangerous to navigate using a car, especially at night. This is one of
the major effects on the hilly areas of my community. In Fig.6, one can see that
due to lack of adequate drainage systems the earth roads become large pools of
congested water which end up becoming stagnant water and breeding grounds for
mosquitoes. (At the time of the making of the report, these observations are more
conspicuous since it is in the rainy season).
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Figure 5. Flooding of Shoulders On Junctions
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Figure 7. Congestion of Excess Water on Straight Roads
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3.3. CIVIL ENGINEERING AND ITS BRANCHES
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the
design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built
environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings
through the application of principles in mechanics and elements of chemistry.
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10) Tunnel Engineering: Deals with planning, design, construction, safety and
maintenance of tunnels.
11) Material Engineering: Study of Material Strength, properties of materials
used in construction, ceramics, etc.
12) Earthquake Engineering: Study of seismic forces, earth-quake resistant
structures etc.
13) Pavement Engineering
3.4. HOW THE PROBLEM CAN BE SOLVED WITH THE APPLICATION OF CIVIL
ENGINEERING
The solution for this problem in my community requires application of drainage
engineering(hydraulics and hydrology) and transportation and structural
engineering. In order to find a solution to this problem I asked myself. What
structure can be constructed to hold the volume of water that runs off the roads?
How will this structure be constructed? Where will the excess water be distributed
to? Is there an alternative solution? What of the roads? What methods must be
used? Is excavation required? and so on.
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indication of surface and subsurface water concentration or dispersion. Convex
slopes (e.g. Wide ridges) will trend to disperse water as it moves downhill.
Straight slopes concentrate water on the lower slopes and contribute to the buildup
of hydrostatic pressure. Concave slopes typically exhibit draws. Water in these
areas is concentrated at the lowest points on the slope and therefore represent the
least desirable location for a road.
Note: The design of drainage structure is based on the sciences of hydrology and
hydraulics, the former deals with the occurrence and form of water in the natural
environment while the latter deals with the engineering properties of fluids in
motion.
Estimating runoff
1) The size of the drainage area: The larger the area, the greater the volume of
the runoff
2) Topography Runoff volume generally increases with steepness of slope
3) Soil: Runoff varies with soil characteristics, particularly permeability and
infiltration capacity
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CHANCE OF FAILURE (%)
DESIGN LIFE
(YEARS)
10 20 30 40 50 60 70
5 48 23 15 10 8 6 5
10 95 45 29 20 15 11 9
15 100+ 68 43 30 22 17 13
20 100+ 90 57 40 229 22 17
25 200+ 100+ 71 49 37 28 21
30 200+ 100+ 85 59 44 33 25
Table 1.0. Flood Recurrence Interval(Years) In Relation to Design Life & Probability of
Failure (Megahan, 1977)
achieved with road drainage structures. The table above lists flood recurrence
intervals for installations in relation to their design life and probability of failure.
N.B. Based on the formula = ( ) where
n= design life(years)
When streamflow records are not available, peak discharge can be estimated by
the rational method or formula and is recommended for use on channels
draining less than eight hundred thousand (800000) square metres.
= . .
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I = Rainfall Intensity(millimeter/hour) for a critical time period
A = Drainage Area
C = Runoff Coefficient
1) Highways: These are main roads, especially one connecting major towns or
cities.
2) Arterials (Major and Minor): An arterial road or arterial thoroughfare is a
high-capacity urban road. The primary function of an arterial road is to
deliver traffic from collector roads to freeways or expressways, and
between urban centers at the highest level of service possible.
3) Collectors/ Distributors: A collector road or distributor road is a low-to-
moderate-capacity road which serves to move traffic from local streets to
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arterial roads. Unlike arterials, collector roads are designed to provide
access to residential properties.
4) Local Roads: It is a road used primarily for access to adjacent property.
5) Access Roads: It is a road that provides access to a specific destination, as
to a main highway or to a property that lies within another property.
The roads that were considered under my study are a combination of access roads
and local roads. Since most of the roads are on hilly terrain, the runoff from rain
erodes the soil leaving deep gullies and holes which are dangerous to navigate
through at night. In order to solve the problem, I would first like to describe how
the road is structured and designed in order to fit the problem at hand.
Phase 2(Design): This involves a survey of the area. Many factors affect the
design of a road such as: location, terrain and soil properties, drainage capabilities,
traffic volume, the ratio of cars to trucks and buses, possible future development in
the area, effects on the environment or nearby residents. With the design in hand,
the engineering firm advertises for a contractor to do the actual construction.
Phase 4(Paving): This is the most important step in road construction. During this
final phase, the asphalt is poured and laid. Depending on the estimated traffic
volumes and regional climate conditions, the paving job will require:
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Surface Layer: Responsible for providing friction, smoothness, noise control,
and drainage, the surface layer is composed of the highest quality materials.
Materials used are: asphalt, bituminous surface dressing, concrete or gravel)
Base Layer: Using bitumen, cement or lime as the predominant binder, a
bound base course is laid over the unbound base course. Materials used are:
bituminous dense macadam, gravel or crushed rock.
Subbase: It is the main load-bearing layer of the pavement. It spreads load
evenly to the subgrade.
Subgrade: Subgrades are commonly compacted before the construction of a
road, pavement or railway track, and are sometimes stabilized by the addition
of asphalt, lime, Portland cement or other modifiers. The subgrade is the
foundation of the pavement structure, on which the subbase is laid.
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4.0. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
4.1. CONCLUSIONS
After observation and considering the problem, it has come to light that the roads
in my community are poor and undeveloped. There is also little to no adequate
drainage as well which leaves the rainfall runoff to erode the surface of the road
creating gullies and potholes which make the road even more dangerous to use
especially at night. For some straight roads, the rainwater that cannot run off the
surface becomes stagnant and breeds mosquitoes.
4.2. RECOMMENDATIONS
One problem in Ghana is that when a project is implemented in the form of public
construction which help make life better for citizens, the very citizens are unable
to maintain the structure well and end up degrading the structure. Public education
should be implemented to the residents of the community educating them on road
maintenance in order for the road to live out its longevity. Rubbish must be
refrained from being dumped into the drains as this will end up clogging them and
create even more problems. The residents and public should be made aware of all
these regulations as this project makes the roads safe, the community comfortable
to live in and brings Ghana one step closer to development.
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REFERENCES
5 )www.thecivilengg.com
6) www.wikipedia.com
7) www.uniquepavingmaterials.com
8) www.michigan.gov
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APPENDIX
SAMPLE QUESTIONNAIRE
1) Gender
o Male
o Female
2) Age Group
o 13-17
o 18-30
o 31&Above
3) What type of vehicles ply the roads on a daily basis?
o Buses
o Trucks/Goods Vehicles
o Passenger vehicles
o Others
4) What do you normally use the roads for?
o For moving from one part of the community to the other
o For getting into the main road
o For accessing your resident
o Others
5) How would you rate the condition of the roads in our community?
o Excellent
o Good
o Average
o Bad
6) What do you think are the causes of the poor road conditions? [IF
YOU CHOSE BAD]
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8) What are the main problems caused by the poor drainage?
o Erosion
o Flooding in areas
o Damage to vehicles
o Other
9) Are there any suggestions has to how the road conditions can be
improved?
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