Roads In Rural Areas Research Articles

Extending SMS Service Coverage in Rural Areas by using LoRa Communication Technology

Mobile phone services are provided by operators in cities and along the roads in rural areas. In the last case, the coverage can reach a few kilometers far from the roads, depending on the available mobile technology. As a consequence, rural population have limited coverage or lack of message-based communication systems. In this work, we propose a solution based on low-power wide area network (LPWAN) technologies to extend the coverage of SMS service in rural areas in order to provide a message-based communication system for notification and telemetry. The proposal involves two devices called GSM node and remote node which form the complete system. The whole system uses three wireless communication technologies: GSM, LoRa and Bluetooth. To guarantee effective packet transmission, several computational strategies are implemented in each embedded communication hardware, such as algorithms that analyze the service availability before message transmission or guarantee delivery of messages. The proposed scheme takes advantage of both communication systems; those which operate on licensed bands in urban areas with good QoS and those which operate on non-licensed bands with high communication ranges. Several communication tests are implemented to evaluate the performance of the proposed solution. Results show the advantages of using low-consumption and long-range technologies to extend the SMS service coverage in rural areas. To the best of our knowledge, this is one of the first implementations and evaluations of a system that allows extending the SMS service coverage in rural areas based on LoRa technology.

A GIS Analysis on Service Oriented Accessibility and Road Development Potentials of Northern Sri Lanka

Since the urban-rural linkage mainly depends on the availability of the transportation facilities, any project oninfrastructure development should concern the level of accessibility through the existing roads which should bedeveloped. Most of the regional development programs in post conflict Sri Lanka, particularly in the NorthernProvince have not reached the expected deliverables due to several reasons. Particular system has been not usedyet to prioritize the regions with less access to the services because of insufficient road networks. Even after adecade of war ended, most of the roads in rural areas in the Jaffna District are still in wretched condition. Therefore,this paper has aimed to formulae a systematic approach based on the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) toidentify the level of development of sub regions and to classify the regions based on level of accessibility and finallyto prioritize the road networks which should be developed by any road development project. In order to achievethese aims, the present research selected the Jaffna District using the judgment sampling method for datacollection. Most of the data were from secondary sources such as government bodies and open sources and fourmethods of spatial analysis; distance, density, reclass and weighted overlay were used in data analysis. One of thefindings of this paper is the possibility of dividing the region into five key development clusters based on theaccessibility to 15 services. It was revealed that, the development level of each Divisional Secretariat Division (DSD)of Jaffna District totally depends on the quality of road network and the accessibility to the services. Out of fivedevelopment based regions in Jaffna District, there are two marginal divisions; Delft and Vadamarchi East whichconsists less than 30% of accessibility and neither A nor B class roads connected to the urban centers. Furthermore,lack of connectivity to the main roads and poor condition of rural roads have adversely affected to the regionaldevelopment of Jaffna District. It is recommended that the method introduced by this paper can be applied to theregional physical planning.

Rainfall induced erosion of soils used in earth roads

Earth roads in rural areas of the developing world are key engines to the development of countries. They give access to education and health services, sustain agriculture and businesses, and promote social interactions between communities. However, earth roads suffer substantially from poor engineering and funding for construction and maintenance. Rainfall is probably their most dangerous enemy resulting in soil particle detachment leading to the loss of surface material. A laboratory rainfall simulator was used to identify the performance of an earth road surface compacted at the maximum dry density against rainfall energy and surface flow. Under the rain intensity of 30mm/hr, erosion increased with rain duration from 0 to 30 minutes. Fine sand (0.06 – 0.02mm) and medium sand (0.02 – 0.6mm) particles eroded faster than coarse sand (0.6 – 2mm) and gravel (> 2mm) particles of the sediments collected at 5 minutes intervals of time. Additionally, a 20cm x 20cm photograph at the same place was analysed using ImageJ software and showed reduction in number of particles from 18554 at 10 min to 5803 at 25 min as smaller particles had eroded in the meantime.

Effects of emergency medical services times on traffic injury severity: A random effects ordered probit approach

Objective: Emergency medical services (EMS) play a vital role in the postcrash effort to reduce fatalities by providing first aid treatment and transportation to medical facilities. This study aims to analyze the time required for crash reporting and EMS arrival in fatal traffic crashes and to explore the effects of EMS time on the traffic injury severity.Methods: The time required for EMS reporting, arrival, and transport to hospital was calculated by location type and roadway functional classification using 2016 Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) data. Subsequently, an ordered probit model was developed to identify factors contributing to injury severity considering EMS time.Results: The average time for the crash–reporting duration is 5.38 min, the reporting–scene arrival interval is 10.52 min, and the scene–hospital interval is 34.72 min. The average crash reporting and reporting–scene arrival intervals were the longest on conventional roads in rural areas and the shortest on conventional roads in urban areas. The average scene–hospital interval was longest in conventional rural areas and the shortest on freeways/expressways in urban areas. The developed random effects ordered probit model shows that prolonged reporting–scene arrival and scene–hospital intervals result in more severe injuries. The result also presents that crash type, violation, age, location, lighting condition, and alcohol/drug involvement have significant effects on injury severity.Conclusions: The key findings from this study indicate that EMS times differ according to urban/rural location and road functional classification and that reporting–scene arrival and scene–hospital intervals have significant effects on injury severity along with various factors. It is expected that the findings from this study can be used to develop effective and practical strategic plans to minimize EMS reporting, arrival time, and transport to hospital and therefore decrease the traffic injury severity.

Design and construction of low-volume concrete road: experiences from China

Low-volume roads in rural areas constitute the majority of China’s road network. Such roads have important social and economic functions; however, the budget available for their construction and maintenance is insufficient. Therefore, there is a need to explore design and construction methods for durable and low-cost low-volume roads. In this study, the experiences of design, construction, and performance evaluation of a low-volume road (LVR) constructed in a mountainous area in southwest China are introduced. A small-sized slab with size of 2.0 m × 2.0 m or less that bears wheel load instead of axle load is found appropriate for application to low-volume roads. The thickness of the small-sized slab ranges from 10 cm to 20 cm, which is related to the slab size. This type of slab broadens the application of concrete pavements to low-cost and durable low-volume roads. It is expected that the results of this study will serve as a demonstration for the design and construction of low-volume roads.

Modeling of Cellular Networks Using Stationary and Nonstationary Point Processes

The spatial topology of the base stations in wireless networks has a profound impact on their performance evaluation and analysis. It is important to identify a proper and accurate point process model before applying any theoretical stochastic geometry analysis. In this paper, we present and describe a network-data-supported technique for fitting stationary and nonstationary point process models to real-life cellular networks using maximum likelihood/pseudolikelihood and minimum contrast methods. Nonstationary processes are of particular interest, since real-life wireless networks most often do not have a homogeneous spatial distribution. When fitting with nonstationary models, both spatial inhomogeneity and covariate effects are considered. We introduce covariates into the point process models as a potential (or secondary) effect that further influences the distribution of wireless nodes, in order to bridge the gaps between the results and measures of stationary models and simulations of real-life cellular networks. The covariates considered account for population densities in urban areas and distance from the base stations to their closest main roads in rural areas. Simulated envelope tests are used for the evaluation of goodness-of-fit. However, such envelope tests are insufficient to conclusively distinguish between the fitted models. Thus, we apply other metrics such as the Akaike information criterion and root mean square deviation to differentiate among different fitted models. Additionally, the probability of coverage is also considered as the supplementary criterion for the goodness-of-fit and model selection.

The role of road in the development of rural areas, with emphasis on diversification of economic activities (Case Study: Chavarzagh Dehestan in Tarom County)

The role of road in the development of rural areas, with emphasis on diversification of economic activities (Case Study: Chavarzagh Dehestan in Tarom County)

The safety potential of lane departure warning systems—A descriptive real-world study of fatal lane departure passenger car crashes in Sweden

Objective: Lane departure crashes account for a significant proportion of passenger car occupant fatalities and serious injuries. Utilizing real-world data involving fatal passenger car crashes in Sweden, the characteristics of lane departure crashes were identified and the safety potential of lane departure warning (LDW) systems was quantified.Methods: The material consisted of 104 in-depth studies of fatal passenger car crashes in 2010. The crashes were classified as single-vehicle (n = 48), head-on (n = 52), and overtaking (n = 4) crashes. These crash types were identified as crashes that could have potentially involved lane departure. A case-by-case analysis was carried out and lane departure crashes were identified and characterized using police reports and information collected by crash investigators at the Swedish Transport Administration; for example, inspections and photographs of the crash sites and of the involved vehicles. Lane departure crashes were separated from crashes where loss of control occurred pre-lane departure. Furthermore, loss of control post-lane departures were identified. When studying the pre-stage of lane departure without prior loss of control, crashes were categorized as unintentional drifting, intentional lane change, or evasive maneuver. Using previously published effectiveness information, the potential for LDW systems to prevent crashes was estimated.Results: Of all crashes with passenger car occupant fatalities in Sweden in 2010, 46% (63/138) were found to relate to lane departure without prior loss of control. These crashes accounted for 61% (63/104) of all single-vehicle, head-on, and overtaking crashes. The remaining 41 crashes were due to loss of control pre-lane departure. Unintentional drifting accounted for 81% (51/63) of all lane departure crashes without prior loss of control, which corresponded to 37% (51/138) of all fatal passenger car occupant crashes. LDW systems were found to potentially prevent 33–38 of the 100 fatal head-on and single vehicle crashes. These crashes involved drifting and occurred on roads with visible lane markings, signed posted speed limits ≥70 km/h, and without rumble strips on the corresponding lane departure side. The range of potentially prevented crashes (33–38) is due to the inclusion or exclusion of crashes involving excessive speeding.Conclusions: In this study, approximately half (51/100) of all head-on and single-vehicle crashes were identified as being a consequence of drifting, where LDW systems had the potential to prevent the majority (33–38) of these crashes. The typical lane departure crash without prior loss of control occurred on undivided roads in rural areas with signed posted speed limits ≥70 km/h, where the center and side road markings were visible.

Consequences of an Improved Road Network in Rural Iran: Does it Lead to Better Livelihoods and Forest Protection?

Construction of new roads in rural areas is closely linked to market accessibility and economic growth. It also leads to exploitation of natural resources that may accelerate deforestation. These conflicting effects of an improved road network on rural development and depletion of forest resources present a serious challenge to policy makers interested in sustainable development. This paper investigates the effects of road networks on biological and socio-economic behaviour. The analysis was conducted by using a non-linear bio-economic model for a community in southern Zagros, Iran where they manage the adjoining forest according to traditional rules. Data for the model were obtained through village surveys and published resources. The model followed a holistic approach by incorporating a number of livelihood activities, such as, crop cultivation, goat husbandry, charcoal production and hiring out of community labour, along with several logical resource constraints. It was run over a period of 45 years. The results showed that new roads can either fuel forest degradation or contribute to forest protection depending on the choice of policy options. The study concludes that construction of new roads should be accompanied by policies aimed at higher state controls over newly accessible forest areas through regulatory measures, creation of new non-farm employment opportunities and strengthening of traditional institutions through providing extension services for local communities and facilitating NGO involvement so as to minimize the adverse effects on forest resources.

Locally Available Geotextile for Maintaining Unpaved Roads in Developing Countries to Enhance Community Resilience

Road authorities in developing countries recognize the need to maintain unpaved roads in rural areas using local resource based approaches rather than by attempting to meet international standards. The authors have developed a novel road maintenance technique, that we call “Do-nou”. Since 2006, we have demonstrated this technique in Asia, the Pacific, Africa and Latin America. Do-nou can be classified as a geotextile used to reinforce the shear strength of soil using only plastic crop bags, which are widely available in developing countries, and unskilled local labor. After some modification, the technique was also applied to the maintenance of unpaved roads on the clayey ground and to the construction of retaining walls for road embankment in flood-prone areas. It was demonstrated that it was practical for the communities to maintain unpaved roads in rural areas when equipped with the Do-nou technique, thereby enhancing community resilience. The Kenyan Government has recognized the Do-nou technique in its road strategy plan and has invested in training its youth on this technique for employment promotion.

Standardization of the Baseline Study to Plan for Roads and Transportation in Villages: Case of Chikurde and Bhulane in Maharashtra

Roads and transportation is one of the most neglected sectors of planning in rural areas. It is a vital connection between villages and other growth hubs for economic purposes. Apart from livelihoods and trade, it directly influences health, education and overall well-being of people. The network of roads in rural areas is typically characterized by narrowness, curves, dead ends, no pavements, unlevelled roads and so on. Thus, there is an imposing challenge of planning for the roads and transportation sector in the rural areas based on the established procedures for urban traffic and transportation planning. As per the Constitution (Seventy-third Amendment) Act, 1992, Gram Panchayats have been endowed with powers of preparing and implementing their own plans for economic development, amongst many others. The key issues that are faced by Gram Panchayats during the planning process have been identified after staying in the two villages of Chikurde and Bhulane in Maharashtra for a period of two and a half months. The study of these two villages reveals a stark distinction between needs of different villages according to their location and stage of economic development. The nature of these differences has been highlighted. Also, the roles of various agencies involved in planning, funding, construction and maintenance of roads have been studied. Using Chikurde and Bhulane as case studies, a framework for a standardized baseline survey for roads and transportation in villages has been suggested.

DESIGN OF RURAL ROAD IN UTTARAKHAND

The transportation by the road is the only mode which could give maximum service to one and all. This mode has also the maximum flexibility for travel with reference to route, direction, time and speed of travel etc. through any mode of road vehicle. It is possible to provide door to door service only by road transport. The other three modes, viz., airways, waterways and railways have to depend on transportation by roads for the service to and from their respective terminals, airports, harbors or stations. The road net work is therefore needed not only to serve as feeder system for other modes of transportation and to supplement them, but also to provide independent facility for road travel by a well planned network of roads throughout the country. The nation’s socio-economic and cultural growth is mainly dependent on its speedy, safe, economic and efficient transports system. One of the important functions of transportation is providing accessibility and rural roads to fulfill this. Though this sectors did not get the required attention in the past, the mega projects of Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) addressed this issue and envisaged to provide connectivity to all the habitations having population of more then 500 throughout the country and to the habitations of above 250+ populations in North Eastern States, Hilly States, and Desert Areas. While providing the infra structure for rural connectivity, efforts are being made in working out the details of design and construction for rural roads. The Indian roads congress (IRC) has brought out Rural Roads manual (RRM) IRC SP 20:2002. The design aspects, in addition to planning, construction, quality control, maintenance and source of financing are dealt in the RRM. The important aspect of developing low volume roads in rural areas is to aim at providing basic access at minimum cost covering as many as villages as possible, within the allocated funds. To keep the developmental costs to minimum, yet at appropriate levels of serviceability, choice of material is an important consideration. This paper aims for design of 1.539 Km long rural road in Haridwar district connecting Beldi-village to NH-58. The road serves as a life line for people and need proper metalling. This paper discuss about surveying and levelling of proposed road, Traffic Data survey, Laboratory test of material of construction and designing of road based on codal provision.

Empirical Bayes Before–After Study on Safety Effect of Narrow Pavement Widening Projects in Texas

Texas has approximately 40,000 lane miles (64,000 lane kilometers) of two-lane farm-to-market (FM) and ranch-to-market (RM) roads with total paved widths of 18 to 22 ft (5.5 to 6.7 m), most of which are in rural areas. Narrow pavement widening in Texas typically involves adding lane width, a narrow shoulder, or both to increase the travel way in each direction of a narrow FM and RM road by 1 to 9 ft (0.3 to 2.7 m). The main reasons for roadway widening are usually to do any or all of the following: improve safety, increase structural capacity, and enhance pavement performance. The goal of this study was to investigate the safety effects of narrow pavement widening projects for rural two-lane FM and RM roads in Texas. A before–after comparison study was conducted with the empirical Bayes method to evaluate how wider lanes and shoulders affect crash occurrence, by type and severity. Of the 22 studied projects, analysis showed a 31.5% reduction in total crashes, a 35.7% reduction in run-off-the-road crashes, and a 55.4% reduction in head-on crashes after narrow widening projects were carried out. The projects were also effective in reducing fatal crashes and injuries by about 29.5%. These findings suggest that pavement widening is an effective safety countermeasure on narrow two-lane FM and RM roads in rural areas.

Utilization of Construction and Demolition Wastes in Low-Volume Roads for Rural Areas in China

This paper presents a study in which the engineering properties of recycled construction and demolition wastes were evaluated for application to the construction of low-volume roads in rural areas of China. Crushed clay brick and waste concrete, two types of commonly available construction and demolition wastes, were selected. Scanning electron microscopy was used to characterize the influence of the hydration process on microstructure. Properties, including moisture–density relationships and unconfined compression strength, were evaluated. A field application of the use of construction and demolition wastes in low-volume roads was also presented. The study results indicate that construction and demolition wastes may be successfully used as a cement-stabilized base in constructing rural low-volume roads. The results of laboratory and field investigations from the study also provided reference for future mix design and pavement structural design, as well as construction quality control and quality assurance for similar applications in the future.

Air Pollution by Gases and PM in Rural Areas

Pollution of the air by gases (nitric oxide, nitrogen dioxide, nitrogen oxides) and particulate matter is a matter of everyday life. Particulate matter (PM) is one of hazardous pollutants causing deterioration of the environment and thus quality of life of the population. Long-term exposure to effects of increased concentrations of gaseous pollutants can also cause deterioration of the environment and human health. Particulate matter and gases production by road transport is a burning issue, particularly for larger urban areas. However, pollution also occurs outside urban areas from different sources (road transport) that primarily affect vegetation and animals living in the given areas. The environment in urban areas can be affected secondarily by a long-range transfer of pollutants. Due to the dominant use of combustion engines, exhaust gases contain large amounts of gaseous pollutants as well as particulate matter. They particularly include a large amount of the finest PM fractions, which can remain in the air for a long time, easily enter respiratory tracks, and damage human health. The other part includes particulate matter produced by the friction of different parts of roads and vehicle fleets, which concerns matter of larger aerodynamic diameters. The aim of the presented part of the work is to monitor production of particulate matter and gaseous pollutants along roads in rural areas and evaluate their inter-relations, while taking into account the monitored meteorological characteristics and traffic volume.

What proportion of badgers (Meles meles) are killed on roads in rural areas in the Republic of Ireland?

What proportion of badgers (Meles meles) are killed on roads in rural areas in the Republic of Ireland?

Automatic road extraction in rural areas, based on the Radon transform using digital images

Manual digitizing of road maps is an expensive and time-consuming task. We present a method based on the Radon transform, which automatically extracts roads in rural areas from digital images. The proposed method iteratively detects linear segments and then generates road centerlines. The proposed method is composed of two phases: in the first, the seed segments are detected, and in the second, road widths are measured and successive detection of line segments that are candidates as road centerlines is performed. Several tests were carried out using aerial photographs (digital images) of a rural area in Brazil, and the results are presented and discussed. The quality of the extracted road centerlines was computed using the following indexes: completeness, correctness, and RMS. The values obtained show that the proposed methodology performs well.

A Road Network Selection Process Based on Data Enrichment and Structure Detection

AbstractIn the context of geographical database generalization, this article deals with a generic process for road network selection. It is based on the geographical context, which is made explicit, and on the preservation of characteristic structure. It relies on literature that is adapted and collected. The first step is to detect significant structures and patterns of the road network such as roundabouts or highway interchanges. It allows the initial dataset to be enriched with explicit geographic structures that were implicit in the initial data. It helps both to make the geographical context explicit and to preserve characteristic structures. Then this enrichment is used as knowledge input for the following step: that is, the selection of roads in rural areas using graph theory techniques. After that, urban roads are selected by means of a block aggregation complex algorithm. Continuity between urban and rural areas is guaranteed by modelling continuity using strokes. Finally, the previously detected characteristic structures are typified to maintain their properties in the selected network. This automated process has been fully implemented on Clarity™ and tested on large datasets.

Economy-Transport-Environment Interactive Analysis : A Spatial Modeling Approach

Japan's economy is entering a new phase of economic growth through the so-called “lost 15 years” since 1990. Particularly Tokyo and Aichi prefectures have been drawing attention as engine of new economic growth in Japan. Although the recovery of Japan's economy has resulted in an increase in the demand for traffic, construction of new roads in rural areas has been located in a serious situation. It is attributed to a decreasing trend in Japan's population and aging. Thus Japan's national budget will be being reduced in the future. On the other hand, the environmental issues that Japan is facing are becoming serious as well. Japan is one of countries which have ratified Kyoto Protocol, but attaining the target of Kyoto Protocol seems to be very difficult for Japan. Particularly the carbon dioxide emissions from the motor vehicles have still been showing an increasing trend. Thus one can observe a dilemma between the growing demand for traffic and the increasing environmental load in Japan. So this article aims at finding a solution for this dilemma developing an economy-transport-environment interactive model from the spatial point of view. In this study, Aichi, Shizuoka, and Nagano prefectures in Japan are taken as a study region, and then economy-transport-environment interactions are investigated focusing upon emissions of carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide, sulfur oxide, and suspended particulate matter.JEL Classification: Q53, Q55, R41

Pattern of road traffic injuries in Ghana: Implications for control

Road traffic injuries and fatalities are increasing in Ghana. Police-collected crash and injury data for the period 1994-1998 were aggregated and analyzed using the MAAP5 accident analysis package developed by the Transport Research Laboratory, U.K. Published results of recent transport-related epidemiological and other surveys provided an additional data source. According to the 1994-1998 police data, road traffic crashes were a leading cause of death and injuries in Ghana. The other leading causes of death and injuries are occupational injuries which involve nonmechanized farming and tribal conflicts. The majority of road traffic fatalities (61.2%) and injuries (52.3%) occurred on roads in rural areas. About 58% more people died on roads in the rural areas than in urban areas, and generally more severe crashes occurred on rural roads compared with urban areas. Pedestrians accounted for 46.2% of all road traffic fatalities. The majority of these (66.8%) occurred in urban areas. The second leading population of road users affected was riders in passenger-ferrying buses, minibuses and trucks. The majority of these (42.8%) were killed on roads that pass through rural areas. Pedestrian casualties were overrepresented (nearly 90%) in five regions located in the southern half of the country. Efforts to tackle pedestrian safety should focus on the five regions of the country where most pedestrian fatalities occur in urban areas. Policies are also needed to protect passengers in commercially operated passenger-ferrying buses, minibuses and trucks because these vehicles carry a higher risk of being involved in fatal crashes.