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2013R01EN
Technical Committee A.4 Rural Road Systems and Accessibility to Rural Areas
Best Practices for the Sustainable Maintenance of Rural Roads in Developing Countries
2013R01EN
statements
The World Road Association (PIARC) is a nonprofit organisation established in 1909 to improve
international co-operation and to foster progress in the field of roads and road transport.
The study that is the subject of this report was defined in the PIARC Strategic Plan 2007 2011
approved by the Council of the World Road Association, whose members are representatives of
the member national governments. The members of the Technical Committee responsible for
this report were nominated by the member national governments for their special competences.
Any opinions, findings, conclusions and recommendations expressed in this publication are
those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of their parent organizations or
agencies.
This report is available from the internet site of the World Road Association (PIARC)
http://www.piarc.org
Best Practices for the Sustainable Maintenance of Rural Roads in Developing Countries
2013R01EN
This report has been prepared by the working group 2 of the Technical Committee A.4 Rural
Road Systems and Accessibility to Rural Areas of the World Road Association PIARC.
The contributors to the preparation of this report are:
Enrique Leon de la Barra (Mexico);
Manon Baril (Canada);
Alondra Chamorro (Chile);
Maurizio Crispino (Italy);
Prabbah Kant Katare (India).
The main authors of this report are: Manon Baril (Canada), Alondra Chamorro (Chile) and
Maurizio Crispino (Italy).
The translation into French of the original version was produced by Canada.
The Technical Committee was chaired by Enrique Leon de la Barra (Mexico). T. Herv Ouedraogo
(Burkina Faso) and Eric Sikam (Papoa-New Guinea) followed by Manon Baril (Canada) were
respectively the French and English-speaking secretaries.
The French report is available under the reference 2013R01FR, ISBN: 978-2-84060-310-8.
Best Practices for the Sustainable Maintenance of Rural Roads in Developing Countries
2013R01EN
contents
Executive summary.........................................................................................................................5
1. INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................................................7
1.1. Brief background..................................................................................................................7
1.2. Purpose And Objectives Of Document ........................................................................7
1.3. Scope of document................................................................................................................7
2. IMPORTANCE OF RURAL ROADS MAINTENANCE...................................................................8
2.1. Introduction............................................................................................................................8
2.2. Socio-economic importance of rural roads maintenance..........................10
2.2.1. Economic Benefits (Evaluation)...........................................................................................10
2.3. Socioeconomic indicators and impact analysis.................................................12
3. RURAL ROAD SUSTAINABLE MAINTENANCE PRACTICES ................................................13
3.1. Operational methods for maintenance practices ..........................................13
3.1.1. Technical Considerations.....................................................................................................15
3.1.2. Labour-Based Work Practices..............................................................................................16
3.1.3. The Microenterprise Model and Contracts..........................................................................16
3.2. Procurement process........................................................................................................26
3.2.1. Key Factors...........................................................................................................................26
3.2.2. Assigning Responsibilities....................................................................................................28
3.2.3. Financing Methods...............................................................................................................28
3.3. Decision making on Sustainable Development...................................................31
4. TOOLS FOR SUSTAINABLE MAINTENANCE.............................................................................31
4.1. Database....................................................................................................................................31
4.2. Road indicators....................................................................................................................32
4.3. Priority assessments..........................................................................................................32
4.4. Methods.....................................................................................................................................33
4.5. Defining budgets..................................................................................................................34
5. CASES STUDIES...................................................................................................................................35
5.1. Successful experiences ...................................................................................................37
5.2. Sustainability in investments successful practices...................................38
5.3. Experiences in Latin America.........................................................................................39
6. CONCLUSIONS.....................................................................................................................................39
7. References.......................................................................................................................................41
Best Practices for the Sustainable Maintenance of Rural Roads in Developing Countries
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Executive summary
Best Practices for the Sustainable Maintenance of Rural Roads in Developing Countries
2013R01EN
Best Practices for the Sustainable Maintenance of Rural Roads in Developing Countries
2013R01EN
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. Brief background
The Technical Committee A.4 Rural Road Systems and Accessibility to Rural
Areas prepared this report titled: Best Practices for the Sustainable Maintenance
of Rural Roads in Developing Countries. It is based on a literature review,
seminars held in India and Bolivia, technical meetings and expertise of the
Technical Committee.
1.2. Purpose And Objectives Of Document
The purpose of this report is to provide the users with information on the best
practices for sustainable maintenance of rural roads in developing countries with a
particular emphasis on Asia, Africa and South America.
Its objectives are as follows:
to provide a useful tool on best practices of sustainable maintenance to practitioners
and organizations;
socio-economic benefits;
in developing countries.
Best Practices for the Sustainable Maintenance of Rural Roads in Developing Countries
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The expected goal of the report is to present best practices for sustainable maintenance
of rural roads; however, the report does not contain detailed technical information on
maintenance and rehabilitation practices.
Road deterioration is a staged process; while the initial phase is slow and subtle, it
will eventually progress to a critical condition with limited utility if left unmanaged.
Therefore, roads require regular maintenance with particular attention paid to
counteracting deleterious environmental agents to reach their full potential and lifespan.
It is a known fact that the lack of well-maintained roads generally increases
transportation costs; as a result, local and national economies are hampered.
Moreover, public and utility services experience difficulty providing for rural
communities, particularly in regards to health and education, resulting in an
inestimable cost to human development.
In contrast, properly maintained road systems reduce general transportation costs, as
well as benefit the countrys development. However, because of the budgetary
constraints, states are facing it is necessary to adopt fiscally viable technical and
financial methods of sustainable road management.
Minor rural roads are usually the last to be accounted for in the transport network.
However, rural roads play a crucial role in the economic and social development of
societies, linking rural communities to education, health services and markets. As
presented in figure1, following page, rural poverty alleviation in developing
countries depends on the interaction and simultaneous improvement of rural
infrastructure, productive sectors, social and economic services. Ideally, this
interaction is supported by an appropriate macroeconomic framework and good
governance policies [31].
Best Practices for the Sustainable Maintenance of Rural Roads in Developing Countries
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Infrastructure
Transport
Water
Energy
Irrigation
Communication
Rural
Development
Productive Sectors
Agriculture
Fishery
Non-Farm Sector
Natural Ressource
Management
Health
Education
Administration
Transport
Rural roads maintenance is therefore critical to ensure adequate access and mobility
to rural populations. Agencies in charge of rural roads maintenance have difficulty
developing effective engineering solutions to address the functional requirements of
all-weather access and selecting low-cost solutions to build and maintain an extensive
network. Given the low level of traffic on these roads, it is usually economically
unfeasible to pave rural networks, especially in developing countries where budgetary
limitations are especially stark.
On technical aspects, some maintenance manuals have been developed by various
organizations, which can be adapted by agencies in developing countries. Among
these manuals are the following:
the Building Rural Roads manual developed by the International Labour
Organization [29];
the Gravel Roads Maintenance and Design Manual developed by the US Federal
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Best Practices for the Sustainable Maintenance of Rural Roads in Developing Countries
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In India, it was concluded that public investments in roads was more beneficial to
alleviating rural poverty than other kind of public expenses; for every million rupees
($22,000 USD) invested in rural roads, 163 people were able to escape poverty. In
Bangladesh, research has shown that some road improvement projects generated a
27% increase in agricultural salaries and 11% in the per capita consumption.
Moreover, the rate of moderate and extreme poverty fell between 5% and 7% and
there was a rise in education levels for boys and girls.
Regarding household consumption [26], rural road development is a major contributor
to household consumption growth in southern China. Similar conclusions were
drawn in a study held in Ethiopia, where higher consumption growth was attributed
to road quality improvement, especially concerning accessibility during the wet
season [15].
Due to the benefits that roads have on social and economic development, it is clear
that effective road management not only improves transportation, but also advances
core development objectives.
For example, development objectives set for a project in Ecuador aim for the
following:
to promote human development and social and economic incorporation of the rural
and indigenous population, offering them permanent access to markets and basic
health and education services;
to enhance decentralization in the country, reinforcing the aptitude for road
management of town councils;
to enhance internal markets, favoring the economic reactivation in agro-ecological
areas with a productive potential;
to promote local development through entrepreneurial capabilities in communities
and the maintenance of service payments to micro-enterprises;
to expand opportunities to access direct, good quality jobs to the unemployed
sectors in rural populations, especially among women; and
to encourage higher social involvement through the development of a participative
planning process.
Nonetheless, negative impacts have also been observed in some cases due to poor
design and/or management of rural road projects. These include involuntary
resettlement, increased traffic accidents and detrimental environmental effects.
Therefore, potential negative impacts must be evaluated when considering road
infrastructure projects.
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The socioeconomic impacts of rural roads can be divided into direct (primary)
effects and indirect (secondary) effects. The objective of socioeconomic impact
analysis is to assess the magnitude and distribution of both direct and indirect effects.
Primary effects are the directly measurable traffic-related effects, like reduced travel
times and savings in vehicle operating costs (VOC). The indirect effects of road
improvements consist of increases in income and other dimensions of well-being
such as health, education, social interaction and political participation. These effects
are related to social benefits (secondary effects) and are difficult to measure and
isolate from primary effects. Therefore, special attention should be given to avoid
double-counting when performing socioeconomic impact analysis [45].
The economic evaluation of rural roads is generally undertaken using a traditional
approach, which considers a minimum threshold of economic or Internal Rate of
Return (IIRR), Life-Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) or Benefit-Cost Analysis (BCA).
Benefits accounted by these methods typically consider direct benefits to road users
but do not account for indirect effects.
In developed countries, where the economy is less distorted and more competitive, it
is expected that direct effects will account for all consequences of road investment.
However, in developing countries, while indirect benefits may be obvious to some,
they have long been ignored statistically as they are difficult to quantify. As a result,
rural road projects are difficult to justify and historically have been given lower
priority than they should. For example, a study held in 32 countries in Sub-Saharan
Africa showed that on average 60 percent of their road funds are spent on main
roads, 18 percent on rural roads and 15 percent on urban roads. While all countries
allocate funds to urban roads, 6 of the 32 did not assign funds to rural roads [7].
Several studies have been carried out in developing countries to assess the impact of
rural road maintenance projects, including Morocco, Peru, Brazil, Vietnam and
Tanzania, in partnership with the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and other
organizations. The findings in many cases have been limited due to the lack of
available baseline or control data. Overall, it has been difficult to identify the
comprehensive benefits achieved from the specific projects. In essence, they focus
on just one aspect and they do not effectively integrate findings.
In 2002, the World Bank published a report titled, Socioeconomic Impact Assessment
of Rural Roads: Methodology and Questionnaires [23]. The aim of the study was to
develop a comprehensive framework to assist managers with data collection and
analytical methods for impact assessments of rural road projects. The study
distinguishes several quantitative methods for the evaluation of rural project impacts.
Methods are grouped in two major types: Experimental or Randomized Control
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The guides and manuals from the series, Routine road maintenance with micro
enterprises are specifically oriented to promote routine management of secondary
and minor roads based on microenterprises between national or regional governments
and municipal administrations responsible for fulfilling that function. These manuals
are important due to the increasing decentralization of road management
responsibility since the end of the 1990s.
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Such are the cases in Colombia and Peru, which apply this methodology widely;
Ecuador, Bolivia, Nicaragua and Guatemala, on the other hand, develop local range
projects with municipalities.
In these countries, microenterprises have proven to be able to guarantee an optimal
transitability level of the roads assigned to them and at lower costs than those
generated by traditional maintenance methods.
Not only do routine road maintenance microenterprises help ensure the maintenance
of any kind of road to a satisfactory degree, but they also become an important
means to enhance local development in rural communities.
This boost is achieved through permanent and quality job generation in
microenterprises as well as provisional jobs during the restoring phase, routine
maintenance, or road improvement.
Through microenterprise fee payments, economically depressed areas get an
important financial boost. In Peru, microenterprises have spurred local consumption
and have enabled the production and accumulation of local capital. This significant
growth is due to the fact that routine road maintenance enjoys a high profit range.
Between 1984 and 1995, a total of 400 microenterprises were created in Peru. They
managed 21,500 km of national and secondary roads, consisting mainly of asphalted
roads. This allowed for the generation of 4,900 direct, permanent and good quality
jobs. By the end of 1998, 299 microenterprises were operating in Colombia, in which
3,257 people took part as associate-workers, managing 11,679 km of national roads.
Beginning in 1996, this experience was reproduced in Peru by the Rural Roads
Program (PCR), a program decentralized from the Communication and Transport
Ministry (MTC), which operates with financing from the Peruvian government as
well as from the World and Inter-American Banks; the goal being the restoration and
routine maintenance of the tertiary national road network. Between 1996 and 2000,
411 microenterprises were created. They oversee 2,800 km of minor roadbed roads
(ballasting, dirt roads), which enabled the generation of 4,780 direct and permanent
job positions in extreme poverty-striken areas of the country.
Both experiences are considered successful and are still in effect. In 2001, the
Peruvian experience has been declared one of the three most successful World Bank
projects in the World of that year.
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the economic justification or the ability to provide a complete picture of the impact on
the projects economic and social factors; for example, the associated strategic functions.
All studies confirm the importance of describing all of the economic and social
impacts in a cost-benefit analysis.
Other important technical considerations include the following:
all of the materials required for the roads construction must be available within
a local authority with available funds must ensure either the construction or the
sociological research into the needs and wishes of the rural residents will help to
identify priorities for construction that may have been overlooked by other parties
involved; and
the role of the roads in the creation of jobs and income for workers in rural areas;
the needs usually expressed include ensuring school transportation, resurfacing
main and secondary roads, and providing a sufficient supply of drinking water to
households.
The benefits normally taken into account in economic assessments are as follows:
direct savings on the running costs of vehicles, the time saved by travellers and the
transportation of goods;
The economic and social criteria that may be used to classify road projects in rural
areas are as follows:
current state of accessibility: communities without access, or without access at
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In addition, the cost forecast should be taken into account, as well as the potential
environmental impacts. Farmable land area within the influence area must also be
considered, which includes an export supply that immediately adjusts to the
prices[11] and a domestic supply. Increasing this land area may encourage inhabitants
to farm more land in the influenced zone of the road. Unskilled and skilled labour is
common to all aspects of agricultural operations.
Labour-based method
Equipment-based method
Land clearing
Simple work
Excavation
Backhoe
Backhoe, grader
Road drainage
Simple work
Grader
Gravel surfacing
Bituminous pavement
Most villages have back alleys that are an important part of the transportation
system. These alleys are rudimentary and not paved. Projects to make alleys more
sustainable using culverts, bridges and retaining walls are generally based on an
appropriate combination of skilled and unskilled labour and equipment. In terms of
choosing the most appropriate technology for this type of work, it is more important
to choose materials that are locally available and, as much as possible, reduce the
quantity of materials that have to be brought in from afar.
For road work and civil engineering structures, designs should allow for the work to
be done while relying on locally available resources. This applies not only to the
choice of materials, but also to the choice of technology. Rural roads mainly consist
of simple engineering structures and do not require complex work methods,
technology or equipment. For this type of civil engineering work, it is possible to use
common engineering technology and to keep things simple. It may be possible to use
local builders and contracting companies to carry out the work.
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preservation of lands;
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Best Practices for the Sustainable Maintenance of Rural Roads in Developing Countries
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Maintenance includes all of the activities needed to maintain a countrys road system.
It includes the following:
routine maintenance (restoration of drainage, filling of potholes and cracks,
shoulder maintenance);
periodic maintenance (resealing, around every 5 years, to renew the surface); and
rehabilitation (approximately every 15 years, to restore evenness and durability).
0.8
4.1
33.6
35.3
300
Grand total
49,369
Total
8.4
0.6
13.0
3.6
2.9
6.5
4.9
1.8
13.3
1.7
13,630
Earth
470
470
1,700
1,907
1,907
1,147
Adm costs
1,214
17,766
Gravel
Feeder Roads
Bituminous
2,129
32,611
Gravel
413
6,357
4,064
Gravel
Urban Roads
1,522
4,733
Bituminous
Asphalt
1,022
1,604
Bituminous
7.3
1,043
12,694
trunk Roads
US$m/
year
Asphalt
US$/
km/year
km
Surface type
Road class
12,336
30,000
141,333
133,020
227,342
404,422
200,000
300,000
500,000
US$/km
15
20
30
20
30
30
20
30
30
years
5,162.2
5,162.2
168.1
533.0
171.6
872.8
283.2
346.0
167.0
796.2
1,271.4
1,419.9
801.9
3493.2
US$m
104,564
12,333
30,000
141,351
26,764
133,020
227,332
404,358
195,915
200,000
300,000
499,938
275,185
US$/
km/year
223.1
10.6
212.5
11.2
26.6
5.7
43.5
14.2
11.5
5.6
31.3
63.6
47.3
26.7
137.6
US$m/
year
1,250
6,324
16,224
14,436
27,580
83,555
22,000
23,000
110,000
US$/km
12
12
years
425.1
425.1
17.0
112.4
19.7
149.1
30.7
42.0
34.5
107.2
139.9
108.9
176.4
425.1
US$m
9,800
9,800
625
1,581
1,803
1,190
3,609
3,064
6,963
3,746
5,500
2,556
9,167
4,865
US$/
km/year
Network
Size
(2003)
121.6
5.8
115.8
8.5
28.1
2.2
38.8
7.7
4.7
2.9
15.2
35.0
12.1
14.7
61.8
US$m/
year
156.8
7.5
149.4
12.6
36.4
2.8
51.8
11.3
7.6
3.7
22.5
41.5
17.0
16.5
75.0
US$m/
year
Total
maint
379.9
18.1
361.8
23.8
63.1
8.5
95.4
25.5
19.1
9.2
53.8
105.0
64.4
43.3
212.7
US$m/
year
7.4%
7.0%
14.2%
11.8%
4.9%
10.9%
9.0%
5.5%
5.5%
6.8%
8.3%
4.5%
5.4%
6.1,%
Asset
cost
Annal life-cycle
costs
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Best Practices for the Sustainable Maintenance of Rural Roads in Developing Countries
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Best Practices for the Sustainable Maintenance of Rural Roads in Developing Countries
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surveys, etc.).
Other studies [8] have shown that poverty reduction is more likely to be effective
when communities have access to essential services and markets at all times and,
above all, in all seasons. The growth and development strategy identifies the
rehabilitation of infrastructures as one of the themes for poverty reduction.
Furthermore, it considers the development of transportation infrastructures as a
priority area in which progress must quickly be made for growth and development
objectives to be reached as soon as possible. Currently, it is estimated that one billion
people, or about 40% of people living in rural areas around the world, do not have
direct access to an all-weather road.
The following section analyzes the significant impact of rural roads and the social
benefits of rural roads in India, Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, Bolivia, Peru,
Nicaragua, Ecuador, Guatemala and Canada.
India
The fundamental objectives of rural development programs have been the reduction
of poverty and unemployment through the creation of basic social and economic
infrastructures, the independent employment of poor rural residents and the provision
of wage-earning employment for marginal farmers and landless peasants to
discourage seasonal and permanent migrations to urban areas.
To upgrade the rural infrastructure, the Indian government established a business
plan for a set period under the Bharat Nirman program, a flagship program for
India. A commitment equivalent to US$39.06 million has been made to the Bharat
Nirman program to unlock the growth potential of villages. A subset of the Bharat
Nirman program called Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna (PMGSY) was
launched on December 25, 2000 and focused solely on good quality all-weather
roads in rural areas. Its stated objective is to connect every habitation over one
thousand people (with more than 500 people in hilly and tribal areas) to an
all-weather road by 2009. After an action plan was drafted and on-site verification
was conducted, a revised plan deemed 59,564 habitations eligible for the program.
This action plan also includes the maintenance/renewal of 194,130 km of the
existing rural road network.
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There is approximately the equivalent of US$3.4 million per year allocated for each
district, with a total of 24 districts covered under this program. All of the funds are
ensured at the local level by the Panchayatraj (panchayat literally means group
(yat) of five (panch) wise and respected elders, selected and accepted by the village
community). The Indian government has decentralized many administrative
functions to the village level.
By July 2008, US$18.3million were approved, of which a sum of US$8.63 million
was allocated for 86,146km of roads. Moreover, a total of 52,218 road structures
were completed with a cumulated spending amount equivalent to US$7.91 million.
By the end of 2009, all villages with 1,000 inhabitants had been connected with
newly built roads, thereby meeting the programs stated objectives.
This program among others found that the maintenance costs for unpaved rural
roads in India are US$55 to US$150 per kilometre and US$700 to US$1,600 per
kilometre for paved roads. For the new construction of roads, costs range from
US$3,500 to US$4,000 per kilometre. Therefore, the Indian case study clearly
confirms that it is far cheaper over the long-run to maintain rural roads properly
rather than build entirely new roads.
Brazil
For 2010, the funds obtained for rural roads by the State government with the
Department of Agriculture, Livestock Production and Supply (Ministrio da
Agricultura, Pecuria e Abastecimento - MAPA) amounted to US$2.9 million. Aid
to municipalities to restore rural roads compromised by heavy rains has increased by
US$147.7 million.
The funds, between US$147.7 million and US$236.3 million per department, are used
by each municipality for initiatives aiming to improve traffic conditions on roads
connecting, in particular, channels used by farmers. The money is transferred through
the Agricultural Sector Development Support Program (Programa de Apoio ao
Desenvolvimento do Setor Agropecurio, or PRODESA), which aims to help rural
communities build or maintain rural roads and stimulate the manufacturing sector.
PRODESA aims to facilitate public infrastructure for farmers, rural communities and
associations. Moreover, it works to support actions that help increase production and
productivity as well as improve the quality of agricultural products and marketing.
The program is administered by the MAPA and operated using funds from the
federal budget (Oramento Geral da Unio - OGU).
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El Salvador
Beginning in September 2010, El Salvador will improve its rural roads with the help
of an Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) loan of US$35 million. The countrys
department of public works (Ministerio de Obras Pblicas, Transporte, Vivienda y
Desarrollo Urbano, or MOPTVDU) will be the entity responsible for implementing
the new program. The loan from the IDB will finance the rehabilitation and/or
improvement of some 80 km of rural roads. This program is part of a new rural road
management policy aiming to make progress in the planning of investments, the
programming, execution and optimization of costs and the impact of the projects to
be carried out. The program is intended to support the accomplishment of government
objectives to reduce poverty and foster the economic growth of households located
in areas around future road developments. The program is expected to increase
economic activity, reduce transportation costs and time, and provide for the
productive and touristic operation of areas to help rural populations.
A previous loan from the IDB amounting to US$57.7 million was used to finance a
program divided in several phases aiming to create sustainable roads in rural areas
of El Salvador. The project was carried out from 2002 to 2009.
Peru
There are three main road systems in Peru:
the National Roads (primary, 26,100 km);
the National Roads (secondary, 22,900 km); and
the Rural Roads (47,000 km) comprise the countrys most extensive road system.
These roads are located in the Andes, with steep hills and a diverse geography.
This presents a massive challenge due to the topography, unstable slopes and zones
prone to earthquakes due to geological faults. Rural road planning is devolved to:
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Canada Ontario
The province of Ontarios 2010 Far North Act [21] is a policy planning and
implementation tool for the development and protection of the Far North in this
province. This land area of more than 450,000 square kilometres represents
approximately 42% of Ontarios land mass and has over 24,000 inhabitants spread
out in 36 communities. First Nations peoples, who represent more than 90% of the
population in these regions, live mostly in remote communities accessible only by
airplane. The Far North includes the largest untouched forest in Canada and the
third-largest swamp in the world. The forests, soil and peat bogs of this vast boreal
environment serve as a massive carbon sink and absorb more than 12 million tonnes
of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the air every year. Development planning for the Far
North supports the environmental, social and economic objectives of the area for the
benefit of the people of Ontario.
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sequestration,
Guatemala
Most of the roads in the Altiplano Marquense were built by the communities and
municipalities (970 km) and are in poor condition due to a lack of maintenance. Only
emergency repairs are done, and many of these roads are inaccessible during the
rainy season. Standards set out that local access roads fall within municipal
jurisdiction; however, the right-of-way of these roads is not registered and
responsibility for them has not been effectively assumed by municipalities.
Annual precipitations are very high in the Altiplano. Precipitation causes damage to
all roads, but especially to rural dirt roads and gravel roads in the mountain areas.
Municipalities believe that using inexpensive materials to surface rural roads could
be more cost-effective than using gravel, which is the material currently used in the
construction of rural roads. A pilot project launched by the department of
infrastructure will make it possible to test the use of two or three technologies over
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Nicaragua
The fourth road maintenance program (IV Proyecto de Rehabilitacin y
Mantenimiento de Carreteras) received funding (2010) amounting to US$39.3million.
This program project was continued because the countrys farmers asked the
government for a definitive solution to the problem faced every year on damaged
rural roads, which are indispensable for the transportation of agricultural and dairy
products to storage and marketing facilities. These essential activities are the
municipalities main source of jobs and revenue.
The program includes the following:
rehabilitation and modernization of a total of 51 km on two main roads: Diriamba
Boquita-Casares (32 km) and Vierge-San Juan del Sur (19 km);
routine maintenance to extend the program under the FOMAV road maintenance
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Through this inter-institutional cooperation, the IDR gives the Army a building to
conduct studies for the rehabilitation, repair and maintenance of rural roads on
productive land. This activity for improving rural roads is coordinated based on the
national governments plan.
In the past few years, the Army restored 791.8 km of roads, representing 73% of the
proposed objective of approximately 1,100 km every year. This joint effort allows
municipalities to more easily provide access to the harvest from productive lands and is
more successful than anticipated; the repair of roads is yielding better results for agricultural
production, benefitting both farmers and carriers in areas that are not easily accessible.
3.2. Procurement process
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and others), as well as private contributions from the collection of contributions for
partial canalization improvements of land tax.
Technical publications often cite the statistic that for every US dollar more that a
developing country invests in road maintenance, road users save 3 US dollars.
Therefore, the economic argument for the maintenance of goods roads is that it
benefits users and thereby good for the economy.
Key factors to be addressed are:
political and financial interests, which may act as impediments to changes to
In Asian countries:
India: Federal Council, at the central level. Funds: gas and diesel tax (6.5% of the
gross domestic product GDP). India plans to invest one trillion US dollars for
infrastructure quality in the 20122017 period and ten billion US dollars to build
new roads.
China: devotes 11% of the GDP to infrastructure quality.
Jordan: funds: fuel tax, international transit fee, surcharges for heavy vehicles.
Jordan has 7,500 km of paved roads. However, many cities, and particularly
ancient cities such as old Amman, were not built for growing traffic levels.
Kazakhstan: Funds: Revenue tax on all enterprises Gasoline & diesel levy Taxes on
vehicles over 10 tons - International freight traffic. The overall objectives for the transport
sector in Kazakhstan are identified in the Governments Transport Sector Development
Strategy 2006-2015 and the Road Sector Development Program 2006-2012. These
documents define investment programs that include rehabilitation of the national road
network and the provision of selected additional infrastructure, particularly along the
CAREC3 corridors. The CAREC was conceived as part of the governments strategy
to stimulate economic growth and reduce poverty in the poorest parts of the country
by improving access to the two regions of Central Asia and Eastern Europe, as well as
providing employment in the construction sector and related services. The program will
not only provide efficient transport links for the poorest regions of Kazakhstan, but will
also provide an efficient transit corridor for other countries in the region, particularly
Tajikistan and the Kyrgyz Republic. The improvement of the Western ChinaWestern
Europe (WCWE) Corridor is among the top investment priorities for the government.
CAREC (Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation) comprises: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Peoples Republic of China
(focusing on Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region), Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
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for the technical and routine distribution of the funds; Ministry of Finance and
Economy and Parliament decide the allocation. Funds: Central Budget assignments
(50% of motor fuel excise tax Vehicle tax payable by private individuals Road
tax payable by legal entities but actually restricted to commercial enterprises at
a rate of 0.8% turnover tax 90% of vehicle registration duties Heavy truck
tolls and excess fees tolls and construction fees paid on public roads Foreign
investments and grants and funds from lotteries, penalties, charities, parking fees
and fines, and local budget subsidies);
Mongolia: Funds: Fuel taxes on gasoline (approx. 5% of the retail tax) and diesel
(approx. 0.4%) - Annual Vehicle Tax determined by the type or weight of the
vehicle - 2530% of total fuel tax collection allocated.
Uzbekistan: Funds: Tax on revenues of all enterprises - Turnover tax on road
transport enterprises - Entry and documentation fee charged to foreign vehicles Vehicle sales and taxes for buses;
Laos: Ministry of Communication, Transport, Post and Construction. Funds:
Surcharge on the prices of gasoline and diesel fuel (over and above ordinary import
duties, general sales taxes, and other charges on fuel) Heavy vehicle surcharge
Tolls on roads wholly publicly financed - International transit charges that might
be introduced.
Nepal: Autonomous Board, majority private sector with public sector
representatives. Funds: Road user charges - Levy on fuel used by transport vehicles
Fines for overloading International transit fees.
Pakistan: public private board. Funds: Fuel levy Road charges (axle load
charges) Annual vehicle charges - Tariffs.
Afghanistan: Funds: 5.2 Million $US for construction of Baghdis - Baghlan rural
road and construction Takhar Bridge
Papua New Guinea: Road Authority. Funds: Governments general budget and
levies, fees, and charges.
Philippines: funds: vehicle tax sanctions in case of surcharge: 30% of the GDP
for maintenance and improvement of drainage on rural roads across the country.
In conclusion, the sustenance of investments for routine and periodic rural roads
maintenance still depends on the annual financial endorsements that both federal
and state governments assign to this important part of road infrastructure.
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generating jobs with the involvement and social responsibility of individuals and
communities; and
From experiences acquired over the years in Latin America as well as in other
regions, it can be concluded that establishing a new road preservation model is a
priority, mainly based on the preventive method. Strategies must be highly
contextualized to local needs and circumstances to determine the most adequate
management model. However, as successful experiences have instructed, one should
consider concepts such as:
developing and creating a specialized institutional core within the organizations in
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Indicators have to consider the age of the operating roads, length, technical data
from its construction, the kind of land it located on, as well as its geological
characteristics, vulnerability to weather agents, traffic density, localization of
coating banks and their availability, physical conditions of each one of them and
their maintenance, restoring or reconstruction track record.
Considerations to be made include:
the productivity of the roads influence zones;
the number and size of the population centers that are connected to the roads;
description of the equipment of the available services (schools, health centers,
Road planning carried out under traditional criteria considers road conditions (or the
required intervention level) as the main criteria in order to establish a road
maintenance plan and, above all, the budgetary limits of the organization in charge.
Only in some cases is the socio-economic importance of the road influence area and
its maintenance historical record taken into account when determining priorities.
According to modern road planning, the purpose of roads is to connect people to
production, markets and services. In other words, road organizations must move
away from traditional practices and reconceptualize their business from a
socioeconomic perspective.
Road planning managed from the provincial level requires the creation of a
management office that permanently integrates different private and public actors.
At the very least, temporary integration should be encouraged to see a plan through
to its approval.
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The system must be visualized in operative terms, in a way that it allows creating a
plan by successive integration levels.
The first planning level is municipal. At this level, the municipality takes a leadership
role and, therefore, convenes beneficiaries and other relevant state organizations that
operate in the jurisdiction.
The objective of this first step is to perform a municipal analysis to establish the
main problems and road priorities in the municipality. Another objective is to gather
base information that will be necessary to prioritize and to elaborate the provincial
road plan.
The second step is a state diagnosis with the objective to establish the problems
affecting the province and to determine which roads have a strategic nature for
socioeconomic development.
If possible, representative institutions for users and beneficiaries at the provincial
level such as freighters, producers unions, or representatives of social organizations
should be included in the planning process.
Based on the provincial analysis, the road objectives and strategies for development
are established, as well as the policies that will direct the actions of the organization
in charge of the rural road network. The objective is to establish criteria that ensure
execution by general consent. The proposed provincial plan must become the main
tool for road management in the long-term.
4.4. Methods
From the consultations made so far, the method developed in Peru and Ecuador is
considered to be the most thorough. The method is based on integrated road
management, whose objective is to define a long-term road plan and in which both
the planning and the cost of the road actions involve the contribution of the users
and beneficiaries organizations.
This method has been employed in the pilot project developed by the Rural Road
Program in the province of Arequipa in Peru. Subsequently, it has been improved for
further use in the six pilot provinces of the Minor Roads Unit in Ecuador.
The method uses a prioritization matrix based on indicators. Such indicators are the
mathematical expression of the criteria approved by municipal, provincial and
private representatives along the communicative planning process.
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In Peru and Ecuador, the indicators were formulated based on the information generated
from primary and secondary sources, such as the benefitted population for every road
kilometer, the investment amounts by kilometer and inhabitant, and so on. Poverty
criteria or accessibility to basic health and education services were also considered, as
well as the importance of the road for other aspects of socio-economic well-being.
Every road underwent evaluation based on the indicators cited above, which then
determined a list of roads in the province ranked in order of their potential utility.
This preliminary list was corrected later to include a municipality priority (established
in the municipal analysis). This prioritized road list informs the long-term road
management plan for the province.
Finally, the cost of the intervention required is included, which allows one to assess
the needed investment level against the available annual budget. Subsequently, one
can determine the period in which the road plan can be executed.
4.5. Defining budgets
capitalization.
In the case of periodic maintenance, the unit cost by kilometer depends largely on
the amount of filling material needed, the proximity of quarries that produce such
material, labor force cost in the area.
Restoring costs depend on the land quality, the level of deterioration of the roads and
the quality of the drainage system.
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5. CASES STUDIES
Several Latin American countries such as Venezuela, Colombia, Bolivia, Peru,
Nicaragua, Ecuador and Guatemala among others, have established a pilot plan of a
road maintenance technical management model. The pilot plan was drafted with
support from a number of world and local organizations, namely the International
Labor Organization (ILO) and the Colombian Public Works and Transport Ministry
(MOPT), and sponsored by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). This
model is based on the operations of specialized microenterprises, which are focused
on the use of labor-intensive methods and have low setup and operating costs, thereby
making it a viable alternative to the more expensive conventional systems of
maintenance equipment.
This new road management model is supported in a series of ILO publications for
their project, Promotion of employment intensive technologies in public investments
in Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru, which operates with resources from Denmark. The
project has the objective of studying and spreading methodologies based on
labor-intensive approaches. Moreover, the project is registered within a wider ILO
policy implemented through the Employment-Intensive Investments Program (EIIP)
operating in three continents (Asia, Africa and Latin America).
In order to boost these projects in Ecuador and Bolivia in 1999, the ILO and
government authorities took action by:
drawing up strategies and projects;
giving direction to the adoption of standards that facilitate the establishment of
microenterprises;
maintenance;
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boosting the economy and the incomes for the individuals therein;
keeping an optimal service level in the rural network of the country, thereby
isolated regions.
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To achieve those goals, Mexico put into practice a new strategy for rural development
by micro-regions to ensure adequate planning and to dedicate resources to
construction, maintenance and reconstruction works for roads found in those areas.
Different parameters have been considered after reviewing studies and analysis carried
out by several federal government agencies and institutions in coordination with
provincial governments. The result was 263 micro-regions, which include
1,334municipalities out of 2,435 located in the 31 provinces of the country. In total,
19.9 million inhabitants reside in these micro-regions, or 20% of the national population.
These micro-regions include municipalities with similar characteristics such as the
level of marginalization, high number of indigenous peoples, as well as
socio-economic, cultural and ethnic aspects, physical environment, and so on.
From this structure of micro-regions, each province has defined the municipalities
that are rated the highest priority and has channeled annual budgetary resources
towards them.
From the global structure of those micro-regions, a sub-group of 539 municipalities was
extracted, which represent the highest priority due to their marginalization level and
their high indigenous population percentage. This sub-group represents 155micro-regions
located in 18 provinces of the country, a population of 6.6 million inhabitants.
5.1. Successful experiences
In Nicaragua, 103 km of rural roads in cattle and agricultural areas important for
both national and export consumption are in a restoring process.
The city halls of six municipalities and several provincial boards take active part in
these works by organizing workers, helping to provide material to resurface roads and
preparing the necessary conditions to take responsibility for the maintenance challenge.
For the first time in its institutional history, the IICA (Inter-American Institute for
Agriculture Cooperation) has taken part in this project, joining the USAID (American
Agency for the Internal Development), the IBD (Inter-American Development Bank)
and CARE (one of the worlds largest aid organizations).
USAID donated 84% of the total cost, estimated at $1.4 million USD. The restoration
project for rural roads has put forward its own challenges: to reduce the expense of
this kind of work, to offer temporary jobs to communities, and to promote the need
of taking on the maintenance process among municipal governments and local
communities, in alliance with the federal government.
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In the areas surrounding these roads, about 9,000 people reside who exclusively raise
cattle. It is estimated that 1,000 cheese quintals and 80,000 liters of milk are produced
and distributed for the different markets every week, as well as hundreds of cattle on
the hoof to the slaughter house.
The municipal council of Villa San Francisco has already approved the construction
of a toll booth. More recently, the formation of a technical team in charge of managing
the resources and keeping the rural roads of the region in good condition is under
consideration.
The toll fee has been decreasing, as the road is being repaired, and prices of food and
groceries that arrive in the area have fallen too. As noted in the IICA monthly bulletin
in February of 2004, Teachers now walk less to get to their schools, ambulances
carry nurses and doctors so they can attend to the inhabitants and the best products
of the region are sold at a better price. [25]
In India, it was concluded that road investment fared better at reducing rural poverty
than other kinds of public expenses. For every million rupees ($22,000 USD) invested
in rural roads, 163 people were able to escape poverty.
In Vietnam, a positive correlation between the economic activity level and the
expansion of rural roads network was found. After agricultural investment, road
investment was the element that generated the most profit in different sectors; for
every dong invested in roads, the value of agricultural raised by three dong.
In Bangladesh, research showed that some road improvement projects generated a
27% increase in agricultural salaries and 11% in the per capita consumption.
Moreover, the incidence in moderate and extreme poverty fell between 5% and 7%.
Research also found that there was a rise in education levels for boys and girls.
Other results are clearly tangible. For example, in Andhra Pradesh (India), where a
positive relationship between an IDA road project and the substantial increase of the
crops was found, temporary job opportunities and literacy rates improvements were
also found. The project also reduced the waste of perishable agricultural products,
improved agricultural prices, and increased school and doctors offices attendance.
5.2. Sustainability in investments successful practices
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6. CONCLUSIONS
Regarding the importance of rural road maintenance, the main conclusions are:
rural roads play a crucial role in the economic and social development of societies;
therefore, rural roads maintenance is critical to ensure adequate access and mobility
to rural population;
it is necessary that governments facing maintenance road problems adopt viable
(technical and financial) solutions that contribute to providing sustainability to road
management;
recent studies have evaluated the positive impact of rural roads investment on
development in poor countries. These studies show that one of the best investments
for a country is, without a doubt, road maintenance sustainability;
recent studies identify the nature of various social benefits, how they can be
measured using indicators (such as the Rural Access Index) and how they can be
included in the appraisal process. However, the management process of rural roads
needs improvement.
The policies in developed and developing countries differ; for the latter, improving rural
roads is an element of a broader development strategy. These strategies are as follows:
to provide a coordinated approach for the resolution of various transportation
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works, local government and the environment. This situation disrupts coordination,
wastes resources and lacks synergy. The primary objective of regional policies is to
provide a consistent strategic framework to develop rural roads;
rural mobility is largely determined by the quality of travel, transportation
infrastructures and rural services, particularly in villages and communities.
Strategies aim to propose effective and sustainable approaches for the maintenance
or development of infrastructures in rural areas (in light of social and economic
development);
to mitigate the demographic pressure in urban areas in developing countries. As
part of the objective of the rural development promotion policy, development of
transportation contributes significantly to expanding tourism and fostering jobs,
growth and a fair distribution of revenues.
For developing countries, these strategies for rural road management and construction
of new roads will contribute to their economic and social well-being, increase
agricultural production, expand the market for selling products, and attract tourists.
Without the governments support, economic development often generates regional
inequalities or erroneously determines the allocation of economic resources. This is
manifested by a concentration of opportunities in only a few areas.
For developing countries, adequate funding and administrative decentralization are
not enough. Fiscal decentralization is needed, in addition to grants from the central
government. An adequate and stable source of funding also needs to be established
for investments made following an appropriate set of standards; rural road design is
often complex, leading to wasted resources and leaving communities with inadequate
and easily deteriorated access roads.
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7. References
[1] AMOATEY, C. et al. Le Financement Durable de la Route dans les Pays en
Dveloppement, GTZ Development Cooperation, 2007.
[2] ARCHONDO-CALLAO, R. Modle de dcision conomique pour les routes
faible trafic, Programme de politiques de transport en Afrique subsaharienne,
Document de travail SSATP No. 78F, 2004.
[3] ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK. Outlook 2010 Asia, Macroeconomic Management
Beyond the Crisis, Asian Development Bank, Mandaluyong City, 2010.
[4] ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK. Outlook 2010 Asia, The Future of Growth in
Asia, Asian Development Bank, Mandaluyong City, 2010.
[5] ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK. Road Funds and Road Maintenance, Asian
Development Bank, 2003.
[6] BAKER, J. Evaluating the Impact of Development Projects on Poverty A
Handbook for Practitioners, Directions in Development Series, World Bank,
Washington, D.C., 2000.
[7] BENMAAMAR, M. Financing of Road Maintenance in Sub-Saharan Africa,
Discussion Paper No. 6 Road Management and Financing RMF Series,
Sub-Saharan Africa Transport Policy Program with the contributions of the
European Commission, the Governments of Denmark, France, Ireland, Norway,
and Sweden, and The World Bank, 2006.
[8]
BURNINGHAM, S. and N. STANKVEICH. Why Road Maintenance is
Important and How to get it Done, World Bank Technical Note TRN-4, 2005.
[9] CENTRAL ASIA REGIONAL ECONOMIC COOPERATION. Comprehensive
Action Plan, Baku, 2008.
[10] CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA. Highway Maintenance in Nigeria: Lessons
from Other Countries, Abuja, 2002.
[11] CENTRE DE COOPRATION INTERNATIONALE EN RECHERCHE
AGRONOMIQUE POUR LE DVELOPPEMENT. Modle macro-conomique
dominante agricole pour lanalyse de limpact du changement climatique et
des effets des politiques en terme defficacit et dquit, Rapport de fin dtude
au GICC, 2002.
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