Application of Highway Development and Management Tool for Low-Volume Roads

Author(s):  
A. Veeraragavan ◽  
K. B. Rathnakara Reddy

Connectivity is a key component of rural development in developing countries. Traditionally, many road organizations budget and program for road works on a historical basis. An objective, needs-based approach is necessary with knowledge of the content, structure, and condition of the roads being managed. The Highway Development and Management Tool (HDM-4) provides a suitable framework for such an approach. From the available traffic and condition surveys, nine representative low-volume road sections with varying geometry and pavement condition are analyzed. The types of vehicles using the roads are two- and three-wheelers; standard medium buses; standard minibuses; light commercial vehicles; two-axle trucks, cars, and tractors among the motorized traffic; and bullock cart and bicycle among the nonmotorized traffic, which are the conventional modes of transport for low-volume roads in developing countries. The purpose of the study is to forecast budget requirements and predict performance trends by applying the strategy analysis of HDM-4 to low-volume roads. The analysis was carried out for two objective functions: to maximize the net present value and to minimize the total costs for a target international roughness index. The design period was 20 years; economic indicators were determined at a discount rate of 12%. Two investment alternatives, namely, a desired maintenance and an ideal maintenance, are compared with the do-minimum alternative. The study reveals that the strategy application of HDM-4 can be used for managing low-volume roads effectively. The tool will help in forecasting budget requirements and assessing the impact of various investment alternatives.

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (15) ◽  
pp. 6101
Author(s):  
Andrew Otto ◽  
John Rolt ◽  
Kenneth Mukura

Under the Research for Community Access Partnership (ReCAP) funded by the United Kingdom Aid (UKaid) program, a project entitled ‘Development of Specifications for Low Volume Sealed Roads through Back Analysis’ was carried out. Previous studies on the performance of low volume sealed roads have emphasized the importance of good drainage to ensure good performance. The emphasis has been on providing sealed shoulders, adequate crown height, and adequate camber. These studies have not related these cross-sectional features with materials characteristics. This paper investigates the influence of each of these features on the performance of low volume sealed roads and their relation to pavement materials. The features were considered each one at time, using a matrix of three levels of the value of each feature and three levels of performance categories. Thus, presenting a 3 × 3 performance matrix for each factor. Assessment of the matrices showed that provision of sealed shoulders permits the use of materials of higher plasticity (PI ≤ 16 and PM ≤ 560) without compromising performance compared to that permissible for sections with unsealed shoulders (PI ≤ 10 and PM ≤ 240). These results can be used to supplement existing selection criteria for road base material of low volume roads.


Author(s):  
Sven Ivarsson ◽  
Malmberg Christina Calvo

Unit costs for low-volume road construction and maintenance are low compared with those for higher-level roads. The problem is that in many countries this network is vast, and the total cost requirements to ensure minimum access are enormous. This problem is a particular challenge in developing countries where more than two-thirds of the poor reside in rural areas. The option of private ownership and financing of low-volume roads is proposed. It is argued that the Swedish model for low-volume road management and financing is simple and efficient and can easily be adapted to a variety of circumstances in both rich and poor countries. In Sweden, private road associations manage two-thirds of the road network at less than half the cost and with better results than do the government road agencies. This model is based on a well-structured institutional framework for private ownership of low-volume roads that includes a law on private roads and financial and technical incentives. The government provides legal and financial incentives for local property owners to associate and assume responsibility for their roads. The result is a private–public partnership in which government subsidizes road costs with grants from the budget. Increasing efficiency and effectiveness of public expenditures and working in partnership with the private sector are highly relevant goals in both developed and developing countries.


Author(s):  
M. I. Pinard ◽  
C. S. Gourley ◽  
P. A. K. Greening

Low-volume roads (LVRs) constitute an integral component of the road system in all developing countries, where their importance extends to all aspects of the social and economic development of rural communities. However, the original documentation relating to the provision of such roads is based in many respects on technology and research carried out in Europe and the United States some 30 to 40 years ago in environments very different from those prevailing in developing countries. As a result, these traditional approaches are often inappropriate for application in developing countries. Moreover, they tend to focus on the technical environment of road provision, with inadequate consideration of other interrelated environments that critically influence the types of LVRs that should be provided. As a result, a need for new, more holistic approaches to low-volume road provision has been engendered to satisfy the various needs of rural communities in a more sustainable manner. The objective of this discussion is to provide an insight into new, more holistic and sustainable approaches to the provision of LVRs in developing countries. Embodied in these new approaches is a need to rethink the old ways of providing such roads based on research and development work that has been carried out in these countries during the past 20 years. Examples include aspects of planning and project appraisal, geometric and pavement design, construction and drainage, and environmental issues, all of which need to be reconsidered in a more appropriate manner.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 51
Author(s):  
Wael Omran Aly

Government and non-government organizations (NGOs) basic reaction to the pace and scale of international changes has been a hesitancy to recognize adequately the need to modify themselves. Problems tend to be interdependent as well as bundled, needing thorough approaches as well as common participation. On the other hand, the private sector in developing countries providing on average 60 per cent of GDP, 80 per cent of capital flows and 90 per cent of jobs. As a result, a solid along with vital private sector is essential for help Developing countries move from associations depending on aid towards types depending on economic partnerships. Consequently, developing a collaboration dependent upon creating shared value (CSV) credo by using the private sector - rather than the conventional social responsibility approach- is a must to increase the impact involving aid investments while bringing in business growth. Hence, such paper aims to depict the suitable framework to create shared value policies and practices that enhance the competitiveness of private sector companies while simultaneously advancing the economic and social conditions in the communities in which they operate. Moreover, it tends to detect barriers impeding the realization of such framework; and the needed pillars to overcome such barriers in developing countries as Egypt.


2003 ◽  
Vol 1819 (1) ◽  
pp. 228-235 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter E. Sebaaly ◽  
Raj Siddharthan ◽  
David Huft

A recent study sponsored by the South Dakota Department of Transportation evaluated the impact of agricultural equipment on the actual response of low-volume roads. To meet this objective, one gravel pavement section and one blotter pavement section were instrumented in South Dakota and tested under agricultural equipment. Each section was instrumented with pressure cells in the base and subgrade and deflection gauges to measure surface displacement. Field tests were carried out during fall 2000, spring 2001, and summer 2001. Testing in different seasons offered the opportunity to evaluate the impact of heavy equipment on low-volume roads under variable environmental conditions: high and low temperatures and wet and dry conditions. Test vehicles included two Terragators, a grain cart, and a tracked tractor. The field testing program collected the pavement responses under five replicates of each combination of test vehicle and load level and under the 18,000-lb single-axle truck. Data were examined for repeatability, and the average of the most repeatable set of measurements was calculated and used in the analysis. The first part of the research evaluated the relative impact of the different equipment, defined as the ratio of pavement response under each combination of vehicle-load level over the pavement response under the 18,000-lb single-axle truck. Analysis of the pavement response ratios indicated that ( a) the tracked tractor is not more damaging than the 18,000-lb single-axle truck, ( b) Terragators 8103 and 8144 are more damaging than the 18,000-lb single-axle truck only when they are fully loaded, and ( c) the grain cart is more damaging than the 18,000-lb single-axle truck only when it is loaded over the legal load limit. The second part of the research evaluated load equivalency factors for agricultural equipment on gravel and blotter pavements. Analysis of the load equivalency data indicated that an agency can effectively reduce the impact of agricultural equipment on a low-volume road by increasing the thickness of the base layer and keeping the load as close to the legal limit as possible.


Author(s):  
Wolfgang Haslehner

The rural road network in Austria consists of all roads that are neither federal nor provincial roads and serve the purpose of enabling access to the rural area. This low-volume road network includes all municipal roads, farm roads, and forest roads. The total length of these roads amounts to approximately 160,000 km or 80% of the total Austrian road network. The responsibility for construction and maintenance of this rural road network in Austria is split between private persons and public authorities. Within these special circumstances a new technical design guideline for rural track paths has been elaborated in Austria. During this elaboration the experiences and know-how from Germany and Switzerland have been analyzed and taken into consideration. The main part of the paper deals with this new design guideline and shows an innovative way to handle activities in construction and maintenance of low-volume roads realized as single-lane rural track paths. These track paths consist of two load-carrying tracks constructed of asphalt, concrete, surface treatment, or block pavers. The obvious advantages of this tracked paving approach are to reduce the impact of impervious surface types and the impact on the environment. What makes this guideline unique is the fact that it is the first of its kind in Austria to encompass all aspects of planning, design, practical construction, and implementation of rural track paths on low-volume roads.


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