Maintenance Of Rural Roads Research Articles

Evaluation of the Implementation Status of the Nepal Rural Road Standards (NRRS) Concerning Geometrical Parameters: A Case Study of Morang District of Nepal

Maintaining the effectiveness of the transportation system is essential to economic growth. Poor road upgrading methods in many developing nations, however, are making it impossible for traffic to flow freely. Nepal developed the Nepal Rural Road Standards (NRRS) of 2055, District Transportation Master Plan (DTMP), and Municipality Transportation Master Plan (MTMP) to regulate the construction of rural road infrastructure. These guidelines provide guidelines for rural road planning, design, building, and maintenance, among other aspects. However, each geometric design has certain features, and parameter requirements depending on the region and location to be applied. This study aims to compare the geometrical features of the rural roads that have been built with the Nepal Rural Road Standards (NRRS) 2055, second revision (2071). Using a random sampling approach, six rural roads in the Morang district were selected for the data collection. To gather geometrical data, field observations and measurements were made at random chainages. This study evaluates various geometric parameters using linear and angular field measurements. Mapping conducted via smart road software ensures road geometry compliance, including aspects such as curve radius, shoulder width, gradient, sight distance, carriageway, and additional widening. The findings demonstrate that strict adherence to established standards substantially enhances road safety. Based on the results of the field observation, the geometric elements have been built according to design specifications, except for the additional widening at shoulder width and horizontal.

A Multi-Objective Optimization Approach for Low Volume Rural Road Maintenance Management Incorporating Socioeconomic Importance

A Multi-Objective Optimization Approach for Low Volume Rural Road Maintenance Management Incorporating Socioeconomic Importance

Assessing corporate social responsibility and poverty reduction programmes in the emerging markets

According to Frynas et al. (2000), poverty is a global challenge which has attracted the concerns of the government and non-government organisations. The paper aims to examine corporate social responsibility (CSR) and poverty reduction programmes in the emerging market. The scope of the paper is limited to the activities of Lafarge Africa Plc in Cross River State. It adopts a survey research method. Data was obtained through unstructured interviews and questionnaires, administered to a sample of 400 respondents: staff of the company and resident in Mfamosing village, in Akamkpa Local Government Area. Data obtained were analysed using independent t-test analysis to test the hypotheses. The main findings of that study show that the provision of educational support programmes by Lafarge Africa Plc significantly contributes to poverty reduction in Cross River State, also that the maintenance of rural roads by Lafarge Africa Plc significantly contributes to poverty reduction in Cross River State. The study concludes and recommends the need for inclusiveness and community participation, in the initiation, design, and implementation of CSR in Cross River State and developing economies at large.

Long-Term Maintenance Planning Method of Rural Roads under Limited Budget: A Case Study of Road Network

At present, the task of maintaining and managing rural roads in China is becoming increasingly severe. To solve the problems of insufficient scheme benefits, complex feasible solutions, and low optimization efficiency in long-term maintenance planning of rural road networks under a limited budget, it is urgent to develop maintenance decision-making models and optimization methods suitable for rural roads in China. This paper focuses on the critical aspects of performance evaluation, prediction, and decision-making. Firstly, this paper proposes evaluation indicators and maintenance countermeasures suitable for rural roads, combining them with the characteristics of rural road performance degradation. Based on different treatment measure levels, RPCI and RRQI performance prediction models are established. On this basis, an improved heuristic optimization method is proposed, which realizes rapid optimization of the most cost-effective solution. Finally, the model and method proposed in this paper are applied to the case analysis of 10 rural roads in Haimen City, generating 171 optimal maintenance sections, further verifying the feasibility and effectiveness of the model. The study provides a theoretical basis for the scientific management of rural road maintenance.

Life Cycle Assessment of Environmentally Friendly Solutions for the Construction of Unpaved Rural Roads

In recent decades, the international community has recognized the detrimental impact of the construction industry on the environment. In recent years, the use of recycled aggregates has attracted increasing interest as a sustainable and cost-effective solution for the construction and maintenance of road pavements. The life cycle assessment (LCA) represents a valuable methodology for evaluating the environmental sustainability of technologies involving the use of such materials. This study deals with the LCA of alternative solutions for the construction and maintenance of unpaved rural roads. Different scenarios using recycled materials, such as reclaimed asphalt and mineral sludge, are analyzed and compared to a reference solution that employs only virgin aggregates. The environmental sustainability of the proposed alternatives is assessed by considering the global warming potential (GWP), energy requirements, and water consumption. The LCA analysis is performed using SimaPro software (version 9.1.1.7). The obtained results demonstrate that solutions involving the use of recycled materials represent a more sustainable and environmentally friendly option. In particular, a significant reduction in water depletion was found for the alternative scenarios, with savings between 56% and 99%. For GWP and energy, the total savings ranged from approximately 20% to 40%.

Diagnosis of the use of environmental strategies for the rehabilitation and maintenance of roads with recycled bituminous material –MBR in the city of Bogotá

The research is carried out in order to give a diagnosis for the use and rehabilitation and maintenance strategies of the road network in the city of Bogotá, providing a sustainable environmental initiative through recycled materials resulting from the asphalt layer removed from the demolition for the maintenance of the roads and from which MBR (recycled bituminous material) is obtained, which through a production process is transformed and mixed with other products, becoming an environmentally friendly alternative and the final product is used for rehabilitation and maintenance of rural roads within the city.

Exploration of the impact of rural road maintenance and management on rural economy based on VAR model

Abstract The rapid development of social economy has largely promoted the development of China’s agricultural economy, in order to better adapt and promote agricultural development must do a good job of agricultural infrastructure construction, rural roads is a very critical basic construction projects. For rural road construction, the key work includes both on-site construction and maintenance management. Based on this, this paper focuses on the study of rural road maintenance and management, analyzing its problems and solutions. The VAR model was used to establish the rural road maintenance management performance evaluation index system and the hierarchical structure; and the sensitivity analysis study pointed out that the method was robust; and the rural road maintenance management performance evaluation level was determined based on the principle of maximum affiliation. The evaluation model was applied to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the maintenance and management performance of rural road management stations to verify the feasibility of implementing the method in the evaluation of rural road maintenance and management performance. The results show that: the evaluation method can make an objective and effective evaluation of rural road maintenance and management performance, has good applicability and reliability, and can be well applied to the evaluation of rural road maintenance and management performance.

Infrastructure Development in Rural Areas: A Case Study of Bhaderwah Tehsil

The present study is a generous attempt to find out the infrastructure development in the four selected villages of Bhaderwah Tehsil, i.e., Thanala, Sungli Chinta, and Khellani. For the said paper, the primary source of data has been utilized from the field survey 2022, which is acquired using a well-defined questionnaire. It is found that all four villages, i.e., Thanala, Sungli, Chinta, and Khellani, have transport facilities, wherein Thanala has 100% Kaccha road with poor connectivity to the main road, Sungli has 75% Pacca road with good connectivity to the main road, and the remaining 25% road is still Kaccha or under construction. In village Sungli, 50% of the population owns a vehicle, which is the highest among all the four villages, while the remaining 50% use public transport services as a mode of transportation, i.e., vans or taxis. In village Thanala, 100% of the population uses public transport services as a mode of transportation, and people don't have their own vehicles. In villages Sungli and Chinta, 100% of the population gets drinking water from water pipelines, whereas in Thanala, 58.3% get water from pipelines and 41.7% get water from springs. In village Thanala, 100% of the water pipelines are in poor condition, whereas in village Chinta, 100% of the water pipelines are in average condition. In village Sungli, 75% of people have proper sewage facilities, and almost 75% drain their sewage water into main drains, which is the highest among all the four villages, while the remaining 25% have improper sewage conditions, whereas in village Thanala, 100% of the population has improper sewage facilities, and almost all the sewage water drains into the open fields. In village Thanala Sungli, people don't have proper disposal facilities to dispose of their waste, and 100% of the population disposes of their waste in open fields, whereas in village Chinta, 53.4% of people use dustbins to dispose of their waste, which is the highest among all the four villages. Villages Sungli and Chinta have 100% toilet facilities, whereas in village Thanala, only 25% of people have toilet facilities, which is the lowest among all the four villages. Chinta village has duration of 15–18 hours of electricity, which is the highest among all the four villages, whereas village Thanala has duration of only 5–10 hours of electricity, which is the lowest among all the four villages. Village Khellani has the highest number of primary and middle schools, i.e., 5 and 2, respectively, whereas village Sungli has the lowest number of primary and middle schools, i.e., 1 and 2, respectively, but almost 76% of the people of village Sungli are satisfied with school facilities, which is the highest among all the four villages. All four villages have drinking water facilities in schools, but there is no facility available to purify the water. All four villages also have toilet facilities in their respective schools, but the condition of the toilets is poor in all four villages. All four villages have medical facilities in the form of dispensaries, and village Chinta has the highest number of doctors, whereas village Sungli has no doctor at all. All four villages have telephone line connectivity, but village Thanala has 100% poor network connectivity and internet facility, while Sungli and Chinta have 100% good network connectivity, with 80% good internet facility in Sungli and 66% good internet facility in Chinta. Sungli is only 5 km away from the market while Khellani is 35% far away from the main market which is highest among all the four villages. On the basis of above analysis some recommendation have been suggested like proper maintenance of rural roads to ensure the proper connectivity of these far flung villages with other parts of the country, restoration of public transport service in these villages, quick implementation of water projects in these far flung villages under Jal Jeevan Mission 2024, proper maintenance of water pipelines, to build proper drainage system for sewage water and the installation of community dustbin in these remote villages, electrification of these villages, installation of telephone and internet network towers and deployment of adequate number of medical staff.

Study of the Economic Profitability of Soybean Production in the Collines Department in Benin: An Analysis Using the Direct Costing Method

In the Collines department in Benin, soybean cultivation is an important agricultural activity that contributes significantly to economic growth. Its production engages various groups of producers and, to do this, its economic evaluation is essential to sustain its development. However, for several years, the development of departmental production has been characterized by a lackluster trend, despite the incentives and signals sent out by the market. Using data collected from a sample of 120 producers chosen at random in the said department, this study assessed, using an approach based on direct costing, the economic profitability of soybean production, and identified the determinants of its improvement based on a logit model. The results obtained show that the activities of the different groups of producers in the study area are economically profitable to varying degrees; and the factors identified as explaining the improvement of this profitability are: the economic situation, climatic and meteorological conditions and rural roads. To this end, as an implication of economic policies, this study suggests that the State play its part as arbiter on the market and contribute to the maintenance of rural roads. In addition, strategies must be developed to deal with climatic challenges, such as irregular rainfall.

Administrative Decentralization and Rural Roads Maintenance in Western Uganda

The systematic study evaluated the relationship between Administrative Decentralisation and Rural Roads Maintenance in Kanungu District in western Uganda. The research study adopted an exploratory and descriptive research design with quantitative and qualitative paradigms. A sample of 104 respondents were selected from 113 people using Slovene’s formula. Data was garnered using questionnaires and interview schedules and analyzed using frequencies, percentages, Pearson linear correlation coefficient (PLCC) for quantitative data and content analysis was used for summarising qualitative information. The study findings established a significant relationship between Administrative Decentralization and Rural Roads Maintenance in Kanungu District in Western Uganda. The study concluded that Administrative decentralisation is important for rural feeder roads maintenance because it deals with issues to do with provision of quality services to the citizenry. If the roads are well maintained, they can be an impetus to socio-economic development of the country at large. The population can use the roads to transact a number of economic activities for development to blossom. From the study findings, the researcher recommended that the political leadership of Kanungu district local government in Uganda should always recruit competent and knowledgeable persons to oversee the maintenance of rural roads for proper development of the country. This can be done through advertising both in local and national newspapers in order to attract a pool of applicants from which district service commission can choose the right persons and fit square pegs in square holes. The government of Uganda should augment on the budget meant to maintain the rural roads so that local governments can have sufficient money to implement activities related to roads maintenance and engender an environment of growth and progress in the country.

Brief Discussion on the Importance of Rural Road Maintenance and Management

Brief Discussion on the Importance of Rural Road Maintenance and Management

Research on Rural Highway Project Construction Management and Maintenance

In this paper, combined with an actual case project, activity-based costing is used to analyze the labor costs, material costs, and the corresponding indirect costs (such as site management fees and taxes) where each cost is analyzed in detailed. Through quantitative comparison, it further determines which business activities are the key cost control objects and proposes targeted implementation plans for actual cost management in the future in order to provide new ideas for improving the implementation efficiency in addition to a reasonable cost control of highway engineering projects. At the same time, through analyzing the situation of highways, different maintenance modes are compared to put forward a more perfect rural road maintenance and management mode.

Strategies to promote collaborative governance regime in Indian rural road maintenance

PurposeEffective maintenance of rural roads is an essential aspect of public infrastructure delivery. However, governments failed to upkeep the built infrastructure. Accordingly, this study addresses this pressing issue by identifying attributes, skills and resources for asset maintenance. To do this, collaborative governance, a recent plausible alternative in the public policy literature, is used.Design/methodology/approachThe literature review proffered 29 strategies for operationalising collaborative governance principles. A questionnaire survey with the public sector representatives comprising top-level, mid-level and lower-level engineers was used to test the applicability of these strategies in rural infrastructure maintenance of India. The rated responses concerning strategies were subjected to exploratory factor analysis to determine the underlying structure for reducing the dimensions to make them practically operational.FindingsThe exploratory factor analysis showed that six dimensions play an essential role in initiating and promoting collaboration. This parsimonious framework suggests building a common collaborative framework, communicating vision and fostering communities, leadership, increasing the industry's capacity, transparency of power and responsibilities, and technical and financial resources. Thus, governments’ initiatives to build collaboration is most prominent in initiating and sustaining a successful collaboration.Practical implicationsThe practical strategies reinforced through this study can formalise self-initiated regimes or independently convened regimes to a federally directed regime well within the scope of the national programmes. Thus, findings primarily have considerable implications to emerging countries where reducing the unit costs to save the public exchequer from wastage and preventing assets from becoming dilapidate are essential.Originality/valuePublic sector practitioners often lack the essential skills and innovative thinking and thus offered new knowledge would transform the traditional practices in infrastructure maintenance. Theoretically, the present research advances the understanding of structures and processes for collaborative governance theory to non-contractual infrastructure asset management literature.

PLANNING AND DESIGNING STANDARD OF RURAL ROAD CONSTRUCTION - AN EXPLORATORY STUDY: A CASE OF LUSAKA PROVINCE IN ZAMBIA

The state of rural roads in Zambia is very poor and in a deplorable condition. Drainages are missing, or where they exist, they are narrow, inadequate and not constructed correctly. Bridges are missing, old, inadequate or wrongly constructed and usually very poorly maintained. In most roads, the shoulders are not stable. From reviewed literature, several gaps in the planning, design, specifications, funding and general roads management in Zambia were identified as being the root causes of poor-quality rural roads. An in-depth literature review was carried out as secondary sources using journals, rural road construction handbook, peer reviewed articles, dissertations and the internet. In-depth interviews were further carried out with the staff at Ministry of Finance, Road Development Agency (RDA), National Road Fund Agency (NRFA), National Council for Construction (NCC), Rural Road Unit and also the Royal Highnesses and their subjects in Chongwe and Lusaka North areas. The results show that the planning is adequate but the problem lies with the planning personnel who are not adequately trained to undertake the tasks. Designs and specifications needed to consider the alignment requirements, technical performance, pavement solutions, material requirements and structures that are specific to an area. Results indicate that planners use a one-size fits all approach kind of designing resulting in the quality deficiency in some areas. The research assist government in developing and disseminating improved policies that assists in better planning, constructing and maintenance of rural roads. It introduces mitigatory actions and recommendations which the government can utilize in coming up with sustainable and reliable quality rural roads

Impact of Rainfall Variability on Rural Tea Roads in Kericho, Kenya

Climate variability is a global phenomenon that is posing a threat to the infrastructure and agricultural sector. Intense precipitation often results in the deterioration of rural road infrastructure resulting in inaccessibility. Rainfall and temperature data from 1989 to 2019 was obtained from Kenya Meteorological Department. Data on Greenleaf and cost of repairs and maintenances are from selected tea factories managed by Kenya Tea Development Agency. Data on perception is based on a questionnaire survey of 398 randomly selected tea farmers. Results show that climate variability is experienced in Kericho (p < 0.005). There is a varsity variation in mean maximum temperatures F(0.05, 29) ꞊ 5.564 (p ꞊ 0.009) and mean minimum temperature F(29) =8.503 (p ꞊ 0.000). However, the linear regression analysis shows that rainfall has decreased (y ꞊ 2.5476x - 40.778) while the temperature has increased (y ꞊ 0.028x - 0.4473). There is a significant positive correlation between the amount of rainfall and cost of repairs and maintenances for five factories (r ꞊ 0.122, r = 0.046, r = 0.029, r = 0.255) except one (r = -.261, p ꞊ .466). Therefore, the climate has significantly varied from 1989-2019 and heavy rains occur periodically that damage rural tea roads, thus impacting negatively on tea transportation. There is a need, therefore, for heavy investment of emergency funds for repair and maintenance of rural tea roads based on rainfall variability and heavy rain return period pattern.

The Analysis of Investment Gap in Rural Road Maintenance: A Case Study of Developing Country

Many countries are having an investment gap in public infrastructure; so, there is a tendency among governments to avoid adequate maintenance. With the aging of the infrastructures, the governments are also facing additional challenges and consequences from the maintenance funding gap.

Research on Extension Evaluation of Rural Road Maintenance Quality Based on Game Theory

The importance of rural highway maintenance is self-evident, and it is also a basic work of the highway operation department. Selecting an appropriate evaluation method can timely and accurately find the pavement diseases, and improve the timeliness of pavement repair. To improve the accuracy of pavement quality comprehensive evaluation, based on the game theory, the improved extension evaluation method was combined with subjective and objective weight determination methods in this paper, to propose a comprehensive weight determination method with a good operability. The results show that the improved extension evaluation method provides a feasible scheme for rural highway maintenance quality evaluation

A Basic Framework for Evaluation of Rural Road Network Conditions

Evaluation of rural road condition has been extensively used as an effective means to support decision-making on investment and management of rural road in both developed and developing countries. Distresses in the form of surface defects, cracks, deformation, disintegration, are common on rural roads. Rural roads must be maintained to provide safe, efficient fast and economic vehicle operations. Evaluation of conditions is recognized as essential requirements for effective maintenance management of rural road network. Thus, development of appropriate evaluation techniques for rural road network is the need of road authorities to prioritize road maintenance and rehabilitation works, as this involves cost economics. Hence, this study presents a basic framework for evaluation of rural road network conditions. A hierarchical structure is developed to identify the various components affecting overall condition of rural road network. This study also proposes various indices to evaluate the conditions of various components identified in this study. This study develop various condition indices such as Structural Condition index, Traffic operational condition index, Traffic Safety Condition index, Transverse drainage condition index, Longitudinal Drainage condition index. Overall Condition Index (OCIs) is also developed in this study to evaluate the overall conditions of the sections of low volume road network using minimal data. Further, the emphasis is on using a simple and quick rural road evaluation technique that can be implemented without using costly and sophisticated instrument. It is expected that the basic framework for evaluation of rural road network conditions will play a pivotal role in rural road maintenance management systems. Thus, the study will be useful to maximize life and benefits of rural road network

Estimación de costos del ciclo de vida para la estabilización de vías terciarias en Colombia con subproductos industriales

Low serviceability of rural road networks in Colombia hinders economic development, and especially rural development. Municipalities have budget constraints, so it is important to develop low cost techniques for preventive and corrective maintenance of rural roads. Stabilization of rural roads using industrial by-products is an alternative to improve road conditions and to prevent negative impacts from sediment production. This paper presents a case study in which three non-commercial materials produced from industrial waste are used for stabilizing a road section in Urrao, Antioquia. Stabilization costs are compared for the three alternatives by adapting the life cycle cost analysis to the information available. In addition, assessed costs consider geographic and technical factors, as well as availability of residues. It is found that stabilization costs are highly sensitive to waste availability and location, to processed volumes and to transportation costs.

Aprovechamiento de residuos de la construcción civil en reparaciones de carreteras rurales

The objective of the work is to verify the feasibility of the use of solid waste from the construction industry for the maintenance of rural roads. Data were collected correlating with the production and destination of RCC in the municipality. It was noted that there are approximately 50 kilometers of rural roads that present very bad traffic conditions during the rainy season. Therefore, a 350-meter, was paved, resulting in an RCC value of R$27.00/m³. If using stone crushed stone to perform the same paving, a cost of R$ 76.00/m³. The application of the RCC in the pavement of the section of the selected rural road presented solution for two serious problems that the residents of the municipality currently have (adequate destination for the rubble generated and improvements of the conditions of use of the roads on land, optimizing the flow of agricultural production and the local economy). In this way, theuse of construction waste, generated in the city of Jales – SP, for the maintenance of rural roads of the municipality presented environmental and economic viability.