Public Works test the solidity of the future bitumen on the Ntoum-Cocobeach site

On the road between Ntoum and Cocobeach, a few blocks from the capital, a ballet of white helmets, compressor rollers and concentrated engineers attracts attention. It's not time for the big bitumen yet, but we're approaching. And for everything to be ready, the teams of the Department of Public Works came to gauge, measure, feel... and validate a technical step that no serious roadworks can ignore: the test board.

This Tuesday morning, Ada Andréa Ginette Mba, Deputy Director General of Transport Infrastructure, made the trip. Not to cut a ribbon or read a speech. She came to see, see, question and, above all, understand whether the foundations laid by EBOMAF are on the road.

"The trial we are doing here is essential. It ensures that everything that has been designed on paper resists the constraints of the field. We're talking about coated, compacted, temperature... They are concrete, technical, but they guarantee the sustainability of the road," she said, at the foot of the vehicles.

The bitumen doesn't simmer. On this stretch, the challenge is to lay a homogeneous, resistant, faultless layer. The temperature of the bituminous mixture shall be between 130 °C and 155 °C when applied. It is then compacted hot, layered after layer, until it obtains the regulatory 10 cm — two well piled 5 cm passes. Nothing is left to chance: not even the size of the gravel grains.

The technicians, thermometer in hand, survey the surface. With a naked eye, you might think everything is ready. But they know that the road does not forgive dosage errors or precipitation. Any fault today becomes crack tomorrow.

Meanwhile, at PK10, EBOMAF's coated power plant runs smoothly. More than 1,000 tons of bitumen are released every day in a steady pace. "The pace is good, the teams are mobilized, but the quality must follow," slips a supervisor on the spot.

The presence of Gabonese Public Works officials is part of a dual mission: to monitor and accompany. For administration, this test phase is not a mistake hunt, but a time of collaboration. "We are not here to sanction, but to assess, adjust and ensure that the project reaches its full level of requirement," says Andréa Ginette Mba. A way of asserting a way of working based on dialogue, proximity and respect for each other's skills.

It is a discrete but decisive step. What the teams are experiencing on this site is often invisible to the general public. However, it is at this very moment that the future of the road is being played out. If the test board passes the test, then the rest of the work can proceed calmly. Otherwise, you will have to review the method, adjust the machines, take back certain portions. This is the price of quality.

In the end, more than just a technical test, this mission looks like a promise: to build a solid, sustainable, useful road for people. And behind this promise, there are women, men, know-how and a shared will to do well.

JKDM/AB/JESP