Recycling Of Asphalt Pavement For Accelerated And Sustainable Road Development In Nigeria

Abstract The deliberate steps being taken towards total restoration of the road network in Nigeria and the huge sums of money committed to it by Governments are not yielding the anticipated results after all as the greater part of the network remains in deplorable state. This development is not farfetched from the inappropriateness of the old methods of road restoration i.e. total reconstruction and overlays that are being employed presently which are expensive time consuming wasteful and cause considerable inconvenience to the road user. There is an urgent need therefore to adopt an alternative but sustainable strategy in order to meet the target of very good condition set for the entire road network by 2015. This paper proposes one proven tool and technic that could come to the rescue - asphalt pavement recycling. Eco-friendliness energy efficiency cost effectiveness and significant reduction in construction time are major drivers behind this proposal. Projects in which such materials and methods were employed for road restoration in developed countries have been highly impressive and encouraging. Integration of such measures in road restoration practices in Nigeria where available funds for road building are increasingly inadequate to meet demand would enhance accelerated road restoration. This paper elucidates various methods of asphalt pavement recycling and factors to be considered for recyclability.