Rural Roads

www.piarc.
org
2013R01EN
Best Practices for the Sustainable

Maintenance ofRural Roads
inDeveloping Countries
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
Copyright by the World Road Association. All rights reserved.

World Road Association (PIARC)
La Grande Arche, Paroi nord, Niveau 2
92055 La Dfense cedex, France
International Standard Book Number 978-2-84060-309-2
Cover: Fotolia
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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.
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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
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Executive summary
Regular maintenance of roads is critical to the economic vitality of a country. In

particular, a focus on rural road maintenance is needed when planning and
administering a large transport network, as they are often deemed less important
than paved roads and highways. When rural roads are neglected, it can cause a
detrimental imbalance, with negative effects on the socioeconomic development
and political participation of rural populations.
To ensure the funding of rural road projects is done efficiently, a number of steps
must be satisfied. First, cost-benefit analyses as well as performance measurements
must be defined; costly, unfeasible projects should be rejected. To keep costs low
for potential projects, necessary building materials should be available locally and
consistent maintenance funding should be established. Also, when simple
engineering technology is adequate for rural road development and maintenance,
the use of local contractors is suggested, thereby not only lowering costs, but also
benefitting the region through job creation as well as giving the rural populace an
active role in local development. To guarantee that the rural population receives the
maximum benefit from rural road funding, socio-economic criteria should be used
to prioritize potential projects, ensuring the greatest number of inhabitants gain
year round access to a road system, allowing for comfortable and safe transportation
of goods and persons, and contributing to the use of local farmable land.
Due to the lack of political interest, public participation and maintenance culture,
many transportation systems around the world are not adequately organized to prevent
rural road quality from sliding into a critical state. A new approach to systematic
financing and management of rural road maintenance is needed. The policy objective
should involve various levels of government and sectors; therefore, coordination and
integration is required in order to implement specific financial initiatives directed at
long-term rural road maintenance planning. This coordination must also include a
consistent and efficient directive lending priority to the redevelopment of existing road
infrastructure, strengthening and protecting the rural roads against environmental
agents, and ensuring sustained funding for continued maintenance moving forward.
Sustained funding, strengthened local-level decision-making, and an integrated
approach are essential to establishing a more effective rural road preservation model.
To aid municipalities in developing a long term rural road plan, certain tools are
necessary in order for decisions to be made from a socio-economic perspective.
Databases and road indicators, for example, allow for an impact analysis of rural
roads and their potential to connect marginalized communities with important
social services in order to diminish migration to dense urban areas. This
information can then be used by the municipality to establish a road priority list
specific to the region and with social development in mind, which can then be
developed into a long-term road plan at the provincial level.
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Rural infrastructure investment and routine maintenance contribute significantly

to regional development, rural integration, preservation and reduction of urban
demographic pressure. By objectively analyzing socio-economic criteria, rural
road rehabilitation can be justified and prioritized. But, in order to sustain
rehabilitation, strong leadership is required to organize permanent financing
sources, whether through supervised microenterprises or federal endorsements,
and to establish locally-influenced, long-term rural road management plans.
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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;
to highlight the importance of maintaining rural roads, including their
socio-economic benefits;
to locate various operational methods for maintenance practices;

to identify maintenance costs and the financing options available; and
to identify common obstacles and potential solutions for the funding of rural roads
in developing countries.
1.3. Scope of document
The report covers a wide range of issues, including:

analysis of existing planning, financing, and management procedures, thereby
identifying best practices;
identification of common obstacles to proper maintenance of rural roads;

employment stimulation through the maintenance and reconstruction of rural roads;
successful experiences allocating funds for the maintenance of rural roads;
accessibility of rural, poor communities to local markets and social services;
public and management policies to respond to local mobility and accessibility needs;
successful experiences using appropriate and innovative technologies for road
maintenance, involving local communities; and
analysis of the tools used for the evaluation of sustainable maintenance.
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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.
2. IMPORTANCE OF RURAL ROADS MAINTENANCE

2.1. Introduction
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].
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Infrastructure
Transport
Water
Energy
Irrigation
Communication
Rural
Development
Productive Sectors
Agriculture
Fishery
Non-Farm Sector
Natural Ressource
Management
Social and Economic Services
Health
Education
Administration
Transport
Figure 1 The Elements of Rural Development [31]
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
Highways Administration under the South Dakota Local Transportation Assistance

Program [43];
the Low-Volume Roads Engineering guide developed by the US Agency for
International Development (USAID) [30]; and
the Low-volume Sealed Roads Guideline developed by the Southern African
Development Community (SADC) and funded by the UK Department for
International Development (DFID), the Norwegian Agency for Development
Co-operation (NORAD) and the Swedish International Development Agency
(SIDA) [44].
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2.2. Socio-economic importance of rural roads

maintenance
2.2.1. Economic Benefits (Evaluation)

One of the fundamental objectives of road maintenance is avoiding the loss of
invested capital through the physical protection of the infrastructure and road
surface. Maintenance entails avoiding destruction of road structure stretches as well
as subsequent rehabilitation or reconstruction.
World Bank studies (1994) point out, based on international evidence, that when a
road is neglected, thereby deteriorating to a critical condition, every deferred dollar
(US$) in its maintenance increases the traffic operating costs by two or three dollars.
If we add the road assets loss expressed in higher restoration or reconstruction costs,
it can be concluded that one of the best public investments a country can make is,
without a doubt, road maintenance sustainability.
Recent studies have evaluated the positive impact of rural roads investment and
development in poor countries. In Asian and African countries, studies have
demonstrated a close relationship between the extent of the road network and
expenditure on roads with income growth. In India, a study found that expenditure on
rural roads presented the most positive impact on rural poverty reduction and income
growth. Rural roads investment was shown to be more beneficial to the population
than investments in other social and economic sectors [19].
Regarding education and health, studies held in Pakistan [16] and Morocco [32] reveal
that the presence of an all-season rural road in a village is associated with higher
school enrollment rates, improvement in education quality, higher use of health
services, higher immunization levels of the population, and more births assisted by a
skilled attendant. Villages with all-season road access have girl school enrolment
rates of 41% compared to 27% for those living in villages without all-season road
access. In the presence of all-season roads, butane gas is more affordable and,
therefore, firewood collection for cooking and heating is less required [38].
In regards to economic growth, it was demonstrated in China that every yuan invested in
rural roads resulted in an increase of 5.68 yuan of rural non-farm gross domestic product
(GDP) and 1.57 yuan of agricultural GDP [17]. In Vietnam, a positive correlation between
the level of economic activity and the extent of the rural road network was observed. It was
found that for every dong invested in roads, 3.01 dong of agricultural production value
would be produced [18]. A study on a rural Philippine fishing community, previously
characterized by poor transport conditions and poor accessibility to major markets, found
that the benefits of the road improvement were considerable. Average household income
increased from 62,000pesos/year before the project to 91,000 pesos/year afterwards [35].
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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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2.3. Socioeconomic indicators and impact analysis
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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Designs and Non-Experimental or Quasi-Experimental Designs. All methods

require a clear distinction of the area of analysis, which could be a community, a
county, or a district. Commonly, two parallel groups or areas are analyzed: the
treatment group, which receives the road intervention and the comparison or control
group, which has similar characteristics to the treatment group but does not receive
an intervention [6, 39].
The principles and tools proposed by Grootaert were based on past experiences and
good practices for the appraisal of socioeconomic impacts. Given the level of detail
of the proposed methods, their application is more appropriate for project-level
management. Although the framework is very clear and flexible, the approach still
requires major technical and financial efforts. In addition, even though the findings
are helpful from an economic perspective, no recommendations are made to enhance
the management process of rural roads.
The Department for International Development (DFID) and the Transportation
Research Laboratory (TRL) in the United Kingdom presented in 2004, A Guide to
Pro-poor Transport Appraisal: The Inclusion of Social Benefits in the Road
Investment Appraisal. The document includes a detailed analysis of the problem of
socioeconomic impact assessment of rural roads in developing countries. It identifies
the nature of social benefits, how they can be measured using indicators, and how
they can be included in the appraisal process [45].
In 2005, the World Bank developed the Rural Access Index (RAI), which is a
transport indicator that highlights the critical role of access and mobility in reducing
poverty in poor countries [40]. The index measures the percentage of the rural
population that lives within 2 km of an all-season road, which is equivalent to a walk
of 20 to 25 minutes. This indicator is helpful for the assessment of population
accessibility at a network management-level and for policy making. In fact, it was
used as part of the results measurement system of the 14th round of the International
Development Association (IDA-14) for the 81 countries that receive IDA
concessionary assistance [38].
3. RURAL ROAD SUSTAINABLE MAINTENANCE PRACTICES

3.1. Operational methods for maintenance practices
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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3.1.1. Technical Considerations

With regard to the development of roadbeds, there are two main criteria to be
considered when proposing a new rural road development project:
the technical feasibility or ability to identify the particular importance of
sustainability as a desirable goal of transportation policies; and
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
reasonable distance of the worksite;
a local authority with available funds must ensure either the construction or the
periodical and routine maintenance;
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;
savings in road maintenance costs; and

broader effects on regional economic development.
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
certain times of the year, will have a higher priority;
number of inhabitants connected: the higher the number of inhabitants to connect,
the greater the priority should be; and
transportation costs related to road conditions: ensure transportation of goods under
the best conditions.
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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.
3.1.2. Labour-Based Work Practices

Labour-based work practices do not exclude the use of equipment. For a comparison, the
table below shows equipment most commonly used for the construction of rural roads,
using either local labour or conventional methods and heavy-duty roadwork equipment.
Activity
Labour-based method
Equipment-based method
Land clearing
Simple work
Bulldozer or front loader
Excavation
Backhoe
Backhoe, grader
Road drainage
Simple work
Grader
Gravel surfacing
Compactor or backhoe, rolling

equipment
Backhoe, grader, rolling

equipment, vibrating roller
compactor
Bituminous pavement
Compactor, trucks, crusher,

asphalt and aggregate spreader
Trucks, crusher, asphalt

andaggregate spreader
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.
3.1.3. The Microenterprise Model and Contracts

The term microenterprise is often misused to designate very small businesses
(VSBs), but its meaning is, in fact, very limited. Microenterprises are almost
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exclusively individual companies, very common in emerging countries where

economic development rests almost predominantly on these types of businesses.
Usually, the traditional approach to subcontracting for road maintenance is based on
the quantity of work, measured and paid for all working conditions; this is called a
unit-price contract.
Conversely, there are maintenance contracts or performance contracts based on road
management performance and on base conditions for the road structure or bridge
construction elements that must be met by the entrepreneur.
Payments are based on the approaches used by the entrepreneur to comply with the
performance standards set out in the contract, not on the scope of the work or services
delivered. All decisions on the technology applied, the identification and use of
materials, the processes, and the management methods are left to the entrepreneur.
The main goal of road management based on maintenance contracts is to preserve
road assets in accordance with predefined performance standards over the long term.
The challenge is developing performance standards to ensure objectives are reached
as efficiently as possible.
In addition, to avoid any ambiguity, performance indicators must be clearly defined
and objectively measurable. Rural road improvement policies and strategies must
strive to achieve specific results in terms of developing awareness of the role of this
approach:
for system integration and effectiveness and inter-regional and local mobility;
to ensure development, the protection of the quality of the environment and the
preservation of lands;
to facilitate a reduction of the demographic pressure in urban areas;

for tourism and jobs; and
to avoid increased damages due to inclement weather events and climate change.
Performance measurements are the basic input for a variety of decision-making

processes and infrastructure management activities.
Many studies [20] have analyzed the value and adequacy of the road system. This
evaluation, covering sidewalks, drainage, building line, capacity and cross-section,
junctions, bridges, and culverts, was based on annual road system surveys and a
series of standards established for various road categories. The data collected was
used to produce a number of performance indicators for the condition of the system
and trends from year to year. Converted into marks, the indicators were used to
determine the level of funding required for capital works and maintenance.
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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
Routine maint. costs
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$/
km/year
Asset replacement cost
223.1
10.6
212.5
11.2
26.6
5.7
43.5
14.2
11.5
5.6
31.3
63.6
47.3
26.7
137.6
US$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$/
km/year
Periodic maintenance costs
Table 1 costs for Ghanas roads and system life cycle
Network
Size
(2003)
121.6
5.8
115.8
8.5
28.1
2.2
38.8
7.7
4.7
2.9
15.2
35.0
12.1
14.7
61.8
US$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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Each new road requires the following:

an environmental and social management plan for the mitigation of environmental
and social risks;
detailed feasibility and technical design studies; and

a plan of estimated costs for various intervention options (project start-up, land
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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The PRONAT program for the sustainable development of rural areas

(Desenvolvimento Sustentvel de Territrios Rurais) finances works for farmers and
their communities, in the rural territories (municipalities) identified and selected.
The goals are to increase agricultural production, create production jobs, increase
revenues and improve the quality of life of these rural populations.
The road system in Brazil is not very well structured and the connections that exist
between many cities often consist of roads constructed quickly. To support the rural
market, hundreds of thousands of kilometres of rural roads facilitate the circulation
of grains and other agricultural products within the country.
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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local governments; and

the Department of Transportation and Communications (Ministerio de Transportes
y Comunicaciones, or MTC) through the rural roads program I and II and the
Programa de Transporte Rural Descentralizado (PTRD)
The public offer of rural roads in Peru is ensured by the Department of Transportation
and Communications (MTC). The aim is to promote, support and guide the enhanced
capacity and usability of transportation infrastructures and rural departmental and
institutional development in a decentralized, planned, coordinated and regulated
manner so as to contribute to development and poverty reduction in Peru.
PTRD: 20072011: the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
(IBRD) and the Government of Peru are providing US$150 million in funding to
rehabilitate and maintain over 4,000km of rural roads and extend the decentralization
of rural road management at the IVP (Instituto Vial Provincial) to local governments.
Programa de Caminos Departamentales(PCD) [departmental roads program]:
2007-2011: the IBRD and the Government of Peru are providing US$200 million in
funding to rehabilitate and establish a road maintenance service system with
decentralized implementation by regional governments.
In short, the maintenance costs for rural roads1 in Peru are between US$21,000 and
US$37,000 per kilometre.
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.
caminos rurales et caminos de herradura
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Land development objectives:

protect areas with a cultural value and ecosystems in the Far North by including
a land area of at least 225,000 square kilometres in an interconnected network of

designated protected areas in community land development plans;
maintain the biological diversity, ecological processes and functions, including
CO2 storage and sequestration; and
allow for sustainable economic development for the First Nations communities
therein.
Planning principles and issues:
heritage and cultural values,
ecosystems and ecological processes and functions, including CO2 storage and
sequestration,
interconnection of protected areas,

biological diversity,
value areas in terms of natural resources with an economic potential,
electricity transmission,
roads and other infrastructure,
tourism.
In the absence of a northern development plan, the construction of all-season roads,

which are not associated with electrical facilities and transmission lines, can no
longer be undertaken. All-season roads may be built only if the construction is
compatible with policy statements for the Far North (information on ecological
values, activities that are compatible with land use designations).
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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50 km of departmental roads for around US$50,000 per km. The performance,

maintenance effectiveness and cost of these technologies (materials) will be closely
monitored and help road authorities in Guatemala determine the best choice of
technology in similar fields.
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);
improvement of rural transportation: a paver (concrete bricks) stabilization program
and approximately 320 km of secondary and rural roads;
routine maintenance to extend the program under the FOMAV road maintenance
fund (Fondo de Mantenimiento Vial) to 37 microenterprises for the periodical

maintenance of 2,400km through the implementation of approximately 80 km per
contract; and
additional aspects include the following:
technical assistance for services or advice;
policy support in strategic planning and programming;
titles;
financial trust issues;
axle load control;
improved organizational and project monitoring and evaluation processes;
implementation support through the funding of feasibility studies, project design,
worksite supervision, financial and merchandise audits; and
specific training for staff at the department of transportation and infrastructure
(Ministerio de Transporte e Infraestructura, or MTI), FOMAV and
micro-enterprises.
In Nicaragua, the Rural Development Institute (Instituto de Desarrollo Rural - IDR)
and the Army signed cooperative agreements to help:
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salvage degraded agricultural production areas;

sustainably protect the environment and preserve natural resources; and
improve the living conditions of inhabitants
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
3.2.1. Key Factors

Financing has clearly been identified as often hindering the maintenance of
sustainable rural roads. In most countries, a sufficient flow of funds from general
budget funding procedures cannot be guaranteed. As well, the rules and regulations
of the public administration system do not allow for effective and efficient road
maintenance management. As it is unlikely that significant, sustainable improvements
can be made to the system, a new approach is needed to eradicate this problem.
From a political point of view, road maintenance is not very attractive; the construction
of new roads and social programs provide more prestige. In addition, the lack of a
maintenance culture and understanding of the economic consequences of bad
maintenance - even by those in charge of roads - make it even more difficult to raise
sufficient funds for maintenance.
Other aspects of public life like access to education and economic policy usually
generate more public participation than rural road construction, despite the fact that
rural roads have a tremendous impact on the standard of living for rural communities.
For example, significant resources are earmarked for highways in Italy2
(6,800kilometres), but only 3% of these resources is dedicated for road interventions
In general, roads are used by households and scattered populations, often with natural or agricultural resources and
astructured land use. Unlike in many countries around the world, Italian roads are narrow often two to three times
narrower than roads belonging to the main and provincial systems and they often carry the same volume of traffic
asthehighway system (vehicles per kilometre).
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at the local level (over 460,000kilometres). The maintenance of local roads is an

opportunity that could generate jobs and local revenues.
When it comes to planning and investing in rural roads, it is said that traditional
investment models (including cost-benefit analyses and running costs) used for
high-traffic roads are less appropriate. In the case of rural roads, deterioration rates
are not very predictable and traffic levels are often too low to justify investment
using conventional cost-benefit analysis methods.
To develop investment strategies for rural roads, prioritization processes must be
adapted to non-quantifiable costs and benefits (sometimes referred to as social costs
and benefits). In Italy, there is no model for low-traffic systems.
In most developing countries, government departments depend on government
sources (indirect taxes, fuel taxes, etc.) and funding for construction and maintenance
of rural roads, is often inadequate and unsustainable. To overcome this challenge,
Europe has implemented various initiatives such as the establishment of rural
development funds where funding for construction is included in long-term
planning. The integrated program pioneered a new approach to transportation that,
for the first time, placed inhabitants at the forefront of the planning process. However,
there are a lot of problems. Rural transportation policies take numerous forms. Quite
often, they are part of a general public sector or rural transportation policy. In this
respect, there might not be a coordinated rural transportation policy, particularly if
the responsibility for rural roads and rural development falls under different
departments. However, key policy objectives may be integrated in rural development
or rural road investment programs. The policy objectives are related to various
aspects of rural development and involve many levels of government.
The complexity of the policy issues involved hinders the policy development process.
This requires coordination across the various sectors and an integrative approach,
combining top-down and bottom-up approaches with communities. The institutional
framework is made even more complicated by the fact that the transportation sector
may want to assume the heavy responsibility of setting its own investment goals and
objectives. Issues become still even more complicated if road and transportation
services are managed by more than one government departmentfor example,
national roads may be entrusted to the public works department, rural roads to the
local government, and transportation operations to the department of transportation.
Roads and tourism: in many countries, the tourism industry is driven by the private
sector. The country developed its tourist trade in part with the help of the road
systems, which facilitates both foreign and domestic travel.
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Maintenance costs: Even if significant resources need to be invested, existing rural

roads must be maintained or adapted. With limited resources, we must give priority
to redevelopment, target actions to upgrade existing infrastructure systems, promote
innovation in the management of road systems and services, and allow for effective
strategies and measures.
3.2.2. Assigning Responsibilities

From observing the experiences of microenterprises in various countries, it can be
said that the use of the local labor force is the most effective method to carry out
routine or preventive maintenance tasks of rural roads. When a regions main means
of communication is a rural road, thereby creating a higher than average amount of
traffic, it is particularly beneficial to hire local workers. However, due to the
requirement of specialized expertise and machinery, the ability of private enterprises
to hire local workers is constrained.
3.2.3. Financing Methods

Road Funds in Central America
In Central America, the creation of road funds has been intensely promoted in the
last fifteen years. In 2000, maintenance road funds have been created in Nicaragua
and El Salvador, in addition to those in Guatemala (1997), Costa Rica (1998) and
Honduras (1999).
Some towns in Eastern Bolivia have set local contributions or fees for producers and
freighters who economically benefit from the roads. The oldest example is one
created by the Development Fund of the Vaca Diez County, which has been run for
more than 25 years.
There is another important example in the province Obispo Santisteban, Bolivia, where
soy and sugar cane producers have voluntarily placed a tax on themselves per ton
produced, designed to support road maintenance with no road rank distinction. The
collected resources are channeled through a road promoter committee that administers
the resources independently and with support criteria to municipal actions.
In Ecuador, the Minor Roads Unit has designed the creation of provincial road funds,
gathering budget resources from provincial councils and municipalities; each
provincial fund receives the resources by automatic transfers that are deducted from
the resources transferred by the state through the central bank. Those resources are
complemented with toll fees collected (in locations where it is possible to do so), with
the transfer of resources linked to road matters (traffic tickets and fines, road taxes
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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
existing systems for decision-making and distribution of funds;
weak governance coupled with a democratic deficit; and

lack of local leadership for change. No matter the quality of the technical solution, if
the country resists change, then it is unlikely change will occur.
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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Kyrgyz Republic: Ministry of Transport and Communications is responsible
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.
Local Communities Participating In Social Programs

The promotion of local community participation in social programs is part of the
strategy to generate jobs and to fight against poverty, as it establishes a way to
organize and manage local services with a dual positive impact:
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generating jobs with the involvement and social responsibility of individuals and
communities; and
facilitating and boosting an enterprise culture.
It must be emphasized that community involvement in road maintenance builds

teamwork skills as well as encourages a sense of ownership and responsibility for the
road in the long-term. In other words, they are not merely recipients of assistance;
they are agents of change in their own development.
3.3. Decision making on Sustainable Development
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
charge of road maintenance;
planning the development of rural road infrastructure at the provincial level
by assembling municipal plans for the creation of management, planning and

investment advising instruments;
developing financing devices that guarantee sustainability of the investments in the
rural road infrastructure at the local level;
gradually decentralizing rural road management, due to the diverse institutional
and technical capabilities of local and regional governments; and
channeling financial and human resources appropriately as well as strengthening
local and regional capabilities to maximize efficiency and effectiveness, while still
ensuring that the national government retains ultimate responsibility.
4. TOOLS FOR SUSTAINABLE MAINTENANCE

4.1. Database
A database is an essential tool to create a sustained road maintenance plan. The

information therein should allow one to clearly analyze not only the function of the
roads, but also their socioeconomic impacts according to their operational levels.
Once impacts are analyzed, one can prioritize needs and structure short, medium
and long-term action plans.
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The consideration of socioeconomic criteria into road planning is a paradigm shift

from tradition practices. The new paradigm emphasizes placing rural road planning
into a comprehensive national plan to connect rural communities to main city centers.
Using this process, local and regional development goals will be advanced and key
residual goals can be achieved, like the containment of migration processes from
rural communities to large metropolises.
4.2. Road indicators
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,
potable water, electric power, electronic communication systems, public

transportation, and so on); and
the distance to provision, reception and sale centers of agricultural products.
4.3. Priority assessments
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
Routine maintenance must be considered as a permanent expense that extends the

lifespan of the road and avoids major interventions in the future.
Routine maintenance experiences recorded in several Latin American countries that
operate on a microenterprise basis show that costs varied from $390 to $1,200 USD
by kilometer in 2003.
Factors affecting the cost of routine maintenance include the following:
the kind of land on which roads are located;
the assigned load of work (number of activities of routine maintenance);
the amount of traffic on the road;
the weather conditions;
the current salary wage in the intervention area;
the social charge established on national legislation; and
the profit margin assigned to the microenterprise in order to allow for its
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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Improvement costs may vary considerably according to the kind of improvement

needed and, above all, the complexity of the geometrical improvements that the road
requires. As in previous cases, specific technical studies are required in each case.
In the case of reconstructing a severely damaged road, this cost may reach between
$30,000 and $40,000 USD per kilometer, depending on the damage level and the
operational costs in the intervention area.
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;
facilitating the approval of routine maintenance by advertising it as a sustainable
and cost-saving policy;
facilitating horizontal exchange enterprises between Andean countries;

training engineers in charge of road conservation in the technical aspects of routine
maintenance;
following up and supervising microenterprises;

training social organizers on promotion methodologies of microenterprise; and
systematizing and publishing these experiences.
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In Ecuador, with the endorsement of the Inter-American Development Bank, the

Public Works Ministry has created the Minor Roads Unit. In 2002, the unit had
established the institutional basis to undertake, as part of its pilot stage, the promotion
of 36 microenterprises (about 280 direct and permanent job positions) which will
manage 420 km of minor roads. This program is slated for wider implementation in
the future.
Some of the poorest regions of the world lack drivable roads throughout the year.
Therefore, organizations like the International Development Association (IDA) of the
World Bank Fund have dedicated about 1 billion dollars a year to rural road development.
The results have been impressive; in the last five years, 60,000 km of rural roads have
been built, maintained or restored, benefiting more than 60 million people.
The countries that have a clear strategy and well-oriented support from the IDA to
improve the quality of life for rural inhabitants through road access have witnessed
improvements first hand. Analysis aimed at determining the economic impacts of
rural roads in India, Vietnam, Uganda, Ethiopia and Bangladesh and research carried
out in Morocco have shown the enormous benefits. In the last 10 years, 90% of road
projects in rural sectors financed by the IDA generated satisfactory results from the
Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) of the World Bank.
In 5 out of the 20 districts in Bhutan, IDA road projects reduced the average traveling
time by 75%. Importantly, trip costs to hospitals and markets dropped. Moreover, the
new proximity of markets and products improved local trade, construction methods
and agricultural practices. For example, banana leaf roofs were replaced with
corrugated metal roofs and the income for agricultural sales has increased by 64%
on average.
Mexico has taken important measures in order to structure the new preventive
maintenance model and its sustainability over the years. In 1990, an agreement was
made to transfer all rural road network maintenance tasks (171,000 km) from the federal
government to the provincial governments. In 1995, the Mexican federal government
had structured a temporary job program, by means of which an important financial
resources fund had been designed to restore, to rebuild and to preserve a significant
number of rural roads in all the federative entities in the country, with the purpose of:
generating jobs in extreme poverty stricken and highly marginalized areas, thereby
boosting the economy and the incomes for the individuals therein;
keeping an optimal service level in the rural network of the country, thereby
supporting provincial governments; and
encouraging investment in rural road network maintenance in some of the most
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
Without a doubt, positive outcomes from routine road maintenance through

microenterprises depend on budget resource availability. Unfortunately, budgetary
resources in most of the Latin American countries and other continents are often not
sufficient; therefore, maintenance stability is uncertain.
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Hence, sustainability of road maintenance is considered an ongoing problem and an

opportunity to study and experiment in a contextualized manner.
The current trend is to decentralize road management responsibility to organizations at
the provincial level, allowing for local integration of the road community and civil society.
5.3. Experiences in Latin America
The international cooperation program involving the International Road Federation

(IRF), the German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ), and the United Nations
Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) that is being carried out
in Costa Rica by the Ministerio de Obras Pblicas y Transportes (MOPT), promotes
best practices for road maintenance in Latin American countries. They emphasize
the implementation of road maintenance funds that are sustainable over the long-term
and have stable resources. Therefore, the program suggests financing be procured
from the users for maintenance service. The programs that follow this template show
progress that is encouraging.
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
problems affecting various sectors. Unfortunately, the implementation of solutions

is not shared between the national, regional and local governments. There are various
government departments involved, such as the departments of transportation, public
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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
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Best Practices for the Sustainable

Copyright by the World Road Association. All rights reserved.

Regular maintenance of roads is critical to the economic vitality of a country. In

Rural infrastructure investment and routine maintenance contribute significantly

to highlight the importance of maintaining rural roads, including their

to locate various operational methods for maintenance practices;

1.3. Scope of document

The report covers a wide range of issues, including:

identifying best practices;

identification of common obstacles to proper maintenance of rural roads;

maintenance, involving local communities; and

analysis of the tools used for the evaluation of sustainable maintenance.

2. IMPORTANCE OF RURAL ROADS MAINTENANCE

Social and Economic Services

Figure 1 The Elements of Rural Development [31]

Highways Administration under the South Dakota Local Transportation Assistance

2.2. Socio-economic importance of rural roads

2.2.1. Economic Benefits (Evaluation)

2.3. Socioeconomic indicators and impact analysis

Designs and Non-Experimental or Quasi-Experimental Designs. All methods

3. RURAL ROAD SUSTAINABLE MAINTENANCE PRACTICES

3.1.1. Technical Considerations

sustainability as a desirable goal of transportation policies; and

reasonable distance of the worksite;

periodical and routine maintenance;

savings in road maintenance costs; and

certain times of the year, will have a higher priority;

number of inhabitants connected: the higher the number of inhabitants to connect,

the greater the priority should be; and

transportation costs related to road conditions: ensure transportation of goods under

the best conditions.

3.1.2. Labour-Based Work Practices

Bulldozer or front loader

Compactor or backhoe, rolling

Backhoe, grader, rolling

Compactor, trucks, crusher,

Trucks, crusher, asphalt

3.1.3. The Microenterprise Model and Contracts

exclusively individual companies, very common in emerging countries where

to facilitate a reduction of the demographic pressure in urban areas;

Performance measurements are the basic input for a variety of decision-making

Routine maint. costs

Asset replacement cost

Periodic maintenance costs

Table 1 costs for Ghanas roads and system life cycle

Each new road requires the following:

and social risks;

detailed feasibility and technical design studies; and

The PRONAT program for the sustainable development of rural areas

local governments; and

caminos rurales et caminos de herradura

Land development objectives:

a land area of at least 225,000 square kilometres in an interconnected network of

interconnection of protected areas,

In the absence of a northern development plan, the construction of all-season roads,

50 km of departmental roads for around US$50,000 per km. The performance,

improvement of rural transportation: a paver (concrete bricks) stabilization program

and approximately 320 km of secondary and rural roads;

fund (Fondo de Mantenimiento Vial) to 37 microenterprises for the periodical

salvage degraded agricultural production areas;

3.2.1. Key Factors

at the local level (over 460,000kilometres). The maintenance of local roads is an

Maintenance costs: Even if significant resources need to be invested, existing rural

2.2. Socio-economic importance of rural roads

caminos rurales et caminos de herradura

[12] COTULA, L. and SONJA VERMEULEN. Making the most of agricultural

[23] GROOTAERT, C. and C. MALMBERG. Socioeconomic Impact Assessment of

[35] OLSSON, J. Improved road accessibility and indirect development effects:

[47] WORLD BANK. Road Deterioration in Developing Countries: Causes and