KWAME NKRUMAH UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

KUMSASI, GHANA

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

CENG 291, ENGINEERING IN SOCIETY

TOPIC: POOR ROAD CONDITIONS IN NEREBEHI COMMUNITY

NAME: KASSIM BUNDU NASURU

INDEX NUMBER: 3484318

DATE: SEPTEMBER, 2019

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
First and foremost, I would like to show my appreciation and give thanks to the Almighty God
for giving the knowledge, strength and life throughout my project. I would also like to give
thanks to Ing. Dr. Hellen Essandoh and the entire College of Engineering body of KNUST for
their assistance and advice they delivered to me throughout this project. Finally, I give thanks to
Mr. Alhaji Safiwu for his assistance and guidance during my research in the community. May
the Almighty God richly bless all of you.

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DECLARATION
I hereby declare this report as a personal work done by a first year student engineering student in
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. I am therefore responsible for the
accuracy of facts in this report. The contents are therefore my own research under the course,
CENG 291, Engineering in Society.

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Table of Contents
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ........................................................................................................................ 2
DECLARATION ...................................................................................................................................... 3
ABSTRACT.............................................................................................................................................. 6
1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................ 7
1.1 Background of the course ............................................................................................................... 7
1.2 Aim and Objective .......................................................................................................................... 7
1.3 Content of the report ....................................................................................................................... 7
2. METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................................................... 8
2.1 Identification of the problem........................................................................................................... 8
2.2 Preparation of map .......................................................................................................................... 8
2.3 Data collection ................................................................................................................................ 8
3. RESULTS AND DESCRIPTION ....................................................................................................... 10
3.1 Description of the community....................................................................................................... 10
3.2 Nature of the problem ................................................................................................................... 11
3.3 Civil Engineering and its branches ............................................................................................... 13
3.4 How the problem can be solved using Civil engineering knowledge. .......................................... 14
4. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION .................................................................................. 16
4.1 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 16
4.2 Recommendation .......................................................................................................................... 16
5. REFERENCES ................................................................................................................................... 17
6. APPENDICES .................................................................................................................................... 18
6.1 Questionnaire ................................................................................................................................ 18
6.2 Other maps .................................................................................................................................... 19
6.3 Letter of introduction .................................................................................................................... 20

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ABSTRACT
The main objective of this project is deal with the poor state of the roads in Nerebehi community
which has become a major challenge facing the community. A questionnaire, verbal interviews
with the residents in the community and personal observations were used as the main procedures
to identify the problem, its causes, its effects and how the problem can be solved.

The main causes of the problem are as a result of inadequate and poor drainage systems, stagnant
water on the surfaces of the roads and poor design and construction.

Some effects the problem has resulted include; accidents, damage to vehicles, health hazard due
to dust (air pollution).

I recommend that adequate and proper drains with enough water bearing capacity should be
constructed on the sides of the roads to prevent rain water from running over the surfaces of the
roads. Also, the roads should be tarred again so as to fill the potholes on the roads and also to get
rid of the stagnant water on the surfaces of the roads.

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1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the course

Engineering is the practical application of the knowledge in science, mathematics and empirical
evidence to the innovate, design, design, construct, operate and maintain structures, machines,
systems, materials in order to make work easier and faster, create conducive environment of
living and to solve the problems in the society. Engineering in Society, CENG 291, is a course
aimed at enlightening students of the fact that Engineering is all about solving societal problems.
It is also aimed at encouraging students early in their programs of study so as to appreciate their
fields of study in engineering and also be able to apply the knowledge they would acquire in
their fields of study to solve problems in the society.

1.2 Aim and Objective

As already stated above, this course is aimed at inculcating students to appreciate their various
fields of study and also acquire to knowledge and skills for solving problems in the society.

1.3 Content of the report

This report contains a detailed description of the poor state of the roads in Nerebehi community.
It gives a detailed information on how the problem was identified, the methods used to identify
the problem, collection of data and analysis. It also suggests the possible solution to the problem
identified.

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2. METHODOLOGY

2.1 Identification of the problem

I made a survey in the community and upon the survey I noticed that the most challenging
problem facing the community is the poor state of the roads in the community. In addition to
this, there are inadequate drains and also choked drains have led to the creation of erosion and
potholes on the roads by runny water over the surfaces of the roads.

2.2 Preparation of map

The map of the Nerebehi community was obtained using “Google maps”.

2.3 Data collection

Data was gathered by personal observation in the community, interviews, using questionnaire as
well as using the internet.

2.3.1 Personal observation

I gathered data by personally observing the community during my survey in the community.

2.3.2 Interviews

I took time to conduct interviews with the residents in the community to find out the major they
are facing in the community and the means of solving the problem. I had an interview with about
50 people living in the community and out of this number, 30 of them representing 60% made it
clear to me that the most challenging problem they are facing in the community is the poor state
of the roads in the community.

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2.3.3 Use of questionnaire

Questionnaires were delivered to 50 inhabitants of the community so as to get enough data and
information on the major problem facing the community and also the causes, effects and the
means of solving the problem in the community. The results obtained from the questionnaire
showed that a greater number of the inhabitants believe that the most challenging problem in the
community is the poor state of the roads. A copy of the questionnaire can be found in the
appendices section of the report.

2.3.4 Use of the internet

I also gathered information from the internet. This was very useful in my project.

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3. RESULTS AND DESCRIPTION

3.1 Description of the community

Nerebehi is a town in Atwima Nwabiagya district in the Ashanti region of Ghana. The town is
endowed with four (4) basic schools and one technical and vocational school. The town is highly
populated with teenagers with a substantial number of them schooling. Majority of the aged men
and women in the town are literates with an appreciable number of them doing a color job.
Roads have been constructed in the community of this town to help the inhabitants in
transportation. However, these roads are in a poor state as a result of inadequate and choked
drains and stagnant water causing erosions and potholes on the roads. Nevertheless, some basic
amenities such as water and electricity are available.

Fig 3.1 a map showing the location of Nerebehi

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3.2 Nature of the problem
The most challenging problem facing the people of Nerebehi community is the poor state of the
roads in the community. A lot of potholes and erosions have been formed on the surfaces of the
roads as a result of rain water which runs over the surfaces whenever it rains. The situation
grows worse during the rainy season because continuous flow of rain over the surfaces the roads
widens the existing potholes erosions making transportation very difficult. During the dry
season, the roads becomes very dusty and hence the air becomes polluted which affects the heath
of the inhabitants in the community. The nature of the problem is shown the following.

Fig 3.2a multiple potholes formed on the roads in Nerebehi community.

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Fig 3.2b Gully erosion on a section of one the roads in the community.

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3.3 Civil Engineering and its branches
Civil engineering is a professional discipline that deals with the design, construction and
maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges,
dams, canals and buildings. Civil engineering takes place in the public sector from the municipal
through to the national governments and in to international. Civil engineering is traditionally
broken into a number of sub-disciplines. Civil engineers apply the principles of geotechnical,
transportation engineering, structural engineering and construction engineering to residential,
commercial and industrial and public work projects of all sizes and levels of construction.

Earthquake engineering deals the design of structures to withstand hazardous earthquakes

exposures. Environmental engineering involves the management of environmental remediation
of hazardous waste. Coastal engineering is concerned with the management of coastal areas.
Construction engineering involves planning and execution, transportation of materials, site
development based on hydraulics, environmental and structural engineering. Forensic
engineering deals with the investigation of materials, products, structures or component that fail
to operate as intended causing injury or damage to lives and properties. Geotechnical engineering
involves the study of rocks and soil supporting civil systems. Structural engineering is concerned
with the structural design and structural analysis of buildings, dams, towers, tunnels and etc.
Transportation engineering is concerned with the movement of people and goods efficiently and
safely to a destination. Hydraulic engineering is concerned with the flow and conveyance of
fluids, principally water. Water resource engineering involves the collection and management of
water.

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3.4 How the problem can be solved using Civil engineering knowledge.
Civil engineering plays a major role in designing and construction of structures. The branches of
Civil engineering depend on one another in order to solve a problem in a particular sector. By so
doing, knowledge from different sector should be combined to solve a problem. From here, we
can start gathering information about the community, the type of soil we going to work with and
the geographical nature of the land we are going to work with. After this, we can proceed to
survey and take measurements on the land be the construction starts. Again, we also need to have
knowledge on the environmental conditions that can cause damage to the roads we are to
construct. This lands us to both Geotechnical engineering and Environmental engineering.

Finally, with all this knowledge, the construction work can begin. Here is where construction
engineers and structural engineers then discuss the format of the work we are going put up. The
roads can be compacted and tarred again to prevent water from getting stack on the roads. Also
two drainage units with enough water bearing capacity should be constructed on both sides of the
roads to enable a greater quantity of rain water to flow through safely. The roads can further be
cambered to allow easy flow of water on the surfaces of the roads into the drains each time it
rains as shown in the diagram in page 15.

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Fig 3.4 design of the road and the drainage units

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4. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

4.1 Conclusion
After careful study and evaluation, it was found out that the major challenging problem the
people in Nerebehi community are facing is the poor state of the roads in the community.
Inadequate drains and are the major factors causing the problem. This challenging problem has
caused health hazards, damage to vehicles, and high cost of living to the people in the
community. The most effective and efficiently way of solving the problem is to reconstruct the
roads with adequate drains on both sides of the roads.

4.2 Recommendation
I recommend that a committee should be set up to raise fund for reconstructing the roads in the
community. This can be done by soliciting money from the residents in the community and also
from private companies. I also recommend that a committee should be set up to supervise the
construction and also regularly check the roads so as to prevent the roads from deteriorating
again. Also, the residents should be educated on how some of their activities might cause
damage to the roads and they should be warned that anyone in such activities would be charged
to pay a fine. These fines can be used for maintenance on the roads when necessary.

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5. REFERENCES

 http://google.com.gh
 http://en.wikipedia.org
 http://civilengineersforum.com
 Google maps
 Google Earth
 http://www.thecivileng.com

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6. APPENDICES

6.1 Questionnaire

Gender: ………………………………………

Age: ………………………………………….

1. Are the roads in Nerebehi community in deplorable state?

a. YES b.NO

2. Is the poor state of the roads in the community the most challenging one?

a. YES b. NO

3. What do you think are the possible causes of the problem? State two (2)

………………………………………………………………………..

………………………………………………………………………...

4. Has the problem caused any effects to the people in the community? State two (2)

……………………………………………………………………….

……………………………………………………………………….

5. What do you think are the best possible solutions to the problem?

…………………………………………………………………........

………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………

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6.2 Other maps

Fig 6.2 a satellite map of Nerebehi community.

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6.3 Letter of introduction

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