Improving the durability of roads in Africa – How geosynthetics are helping to improve the durability of roads

¹ TenCate Geosynthetics France SAS- Solmax, 9, Rue Marcel Paul – 95873, Bezons, France
² TenCate Geosynthetics Austria GmbH– Solmax – Schachermayerstrasse 18, 4020 Linz, Austria

^* Corresponding author: rsanchezperez@solmax.com

Abstract

It is widely known that one of the biggest challenges for Africa’s development today is its infrastructure development. It is estimated that there are $2.5 trillion in active infrastructure projects which should be completed by 2025. Even if not all projects will be completed, it shows the importance of infrastructure development in the continent. This infrastructure development includes, in its vast majority, the improvement of the road network. At the same time, asphalt degradation (and road cracking) is a worldwide problem which causes a big challenge to road and transport authorities all around the world, with a big impact in Africa as it can take a big part of the budget assigned to the road network. The premature cracking of roads implies having to invest, prematurely, more funds into road rehabilitation rather than developing the actual network. For this reason, increasing the durability of roads has become a major concern in the last years. We will go through one of the highest growing solutions which is asphalt reinforcement geocomposites and how its proper design and installation can drastically improve the design life of roads. Practical examples in Africa (recent and old) will be presented to show the benefits and how we adapt to the local conditions.