Thanks to its roller compacted concrete road technology, many municipalities have begun applying concrete roads that are stronger, more durable and lower in cost, which can easily be manufactured with asphalt equipment.
Samsun is one of the leading cities that started concrete road transformation in Turkey, by preferring concrete roads which are 40% cheaper compared to their alternatives.
“Concrete Roads Seminar” jointly organized by the Turkish Cement Manufacturers’ Association (TÇMB) and the Turkish Municipalities Union, in Samsun to promote the best concrete road applications to other municipal municipalities, and to raise awareness.
In addition to the participations of representatives of Samsun, Tekirdağ, Denizli and Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipalities, there were expert speakers who discussed in detail the concrete road conversions.
“Samsun” The Best Example of the cities using Concrete Roads
Recep Şahin, Deputy Secretary General of the Municipalities of Turkey, who held the opening speech, said; “As Turkey Municipal Union, we are an institution in which all the municipalities in Turkey are members. One of our main tasks is to organize trainings and guide our members throughout these trainings. . When we heard about the activities of TÇMB on concrete roads, we wanted to actively take part in them. Today we will talk about the concrete roads which are the national values of Turkey with specialists and academicians. We hope that Samsun Municipality’s preference of concrete roads will expand to other cities as well. “
Concrete Roads hold the key for the Current Deficit
İsmail Bulut, the CEO of the Turkish Cement Manufacturers’ Association mentioned in his speech that Turkey’s current account deficit is $ 32.6 billion by the end of 2016, underlined that the importation of petroleum products constitutes a major part of this scene. Bulut also noted that 25 million tons of oil were imported every year in Turkey and that import dependency ratio was 98 percent. “If concrete road and concrete barrier technologies are utilized sufficiently, it will provide significant advantages for the country’s economy especially in order to be able to meet the raw material needs from the domestic capital. Because of its long life, it will save considerable time for the implementer and most importantly reduce the current deficit by saving as much as an Eurasian tunnel project every year if it is used effectively in our country. For this reason, the usage of concrete roads should be in our agenda, “he concluded his speech.
Solution to Black Sea Climate, Concrete Roads
Yusuf Ziya Yilmaz, the Mayor of Samsun Metropolitan Municipality, stated that they have completed 750 km of concrete road manufacturing in 2 years and have solved most of the road problem. “We are here today to discuss a very important issue in detail. After 2014, we started to work, without losing time, for village roads as a part of the expansion of the Metropolitan Municipalities. We have determined that Samsun is the best solution considering the climate conditions. Because the precipitation of the Black Sea leaves us with very limited working time. This is the exact point where we started talking concrete roads, taking them into our agenda. The biggest reason why we choose concrete is that, the concrete roads cover the curved and bad road conditions very well. Concrete is a solution, it is an alternative. Certainly concrete roads such as asphalt have a lifespan. But we know that the life expectancy of concrete roads is long lasting.” he said.
Participants also had the opportunity to inspect the concrete roads used in Samsun on site during the technical trip organized before the Concrete Roads Seminar.
