Building Rural Roads

Rural roads are the last link of the transport network, however, they often form the most important connection in terms of providing access for the rural population. The permanent or seasonal absence of road access is a constraining factor in terms of providing rural communities with essential services such as education, primary health care, water supply, local markets as well as economic opportunities. The availability of such services and opportunities are difficult to sustain without a good quality and well-maintained rural road network, which provides regular and efficient transport access throughout the year. Building good quality rural roads is a particular skill in itself, requiring proper planning, experienced supervision, good workmanship and the selection of the correct technology and work methods. Their design and construction need to cater for the common type of vehicle loads and allow access throughout the year and in all kinds of weather conditions. Due to the size and extensive distribution of rural roads, road agencies are under pressure to find low cost solutions that allow authorities to build and maintain an extensive network of roads. This manual attempts to present a set of technical solutions and works methods commonly applied in a number of countries where the use of local resources is given serious consideration when building rural roads. Its success, in terms of emphasising the use of locally available resources such as labour, tools and light equipment, combined with good workmanship and high quality standards, has given this technology its due recognition. Based on best practices from rural road-building programmes in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, it describes a set of work methods and procedures proven to be effective both in terms of cost and quality.