Rural Roads Place for Africa’s Sustainable Development
Esdras Ngezahayo 1, GS Ghataora 2, MPN Burrow 2
PhD student in Civil Engineering, University of Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK
Senior Lecturer, Civil Engineering Department, University of Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK
Abstract
Low volume rural road (LVRR) networks in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) form up to 80% of a country’s total road network and are critical to the socio-economic wellbeing of the rural communities they serve. However, in many countries in SSA over 98% of LVRRs are made from earth or gravel and are therefore impassable during the rainy season. Furthermore, for a variety of reasons the LVRR networks in SSA receive less attention compared to the major road networks and as a result, rural roads are generally in poor condition. This impacts the economic transport of goods and services and hinders social interaction, severely constraining social and economic development. There are a variety of initiatives which are seeking to address these issues, often these are funded by major donor agencies and the multilateral development banks (MDBs). These include initiatives to improve the preservation of existing roads through improved financing and management for example, schemes to develop the extent of the LVRR networks and technical approaches to develop low cost materials to seal earth and gravel roads and in so doing provide an all-weather surface. With respect to the latter, since the extent of the unpaved rural road network in SSA is huge it will be impossible with current resources to surface the vast majority of these roads. An alternative approach associated with improving, at low cost, the weathering characteristics of rural roads could be conceived. To this end, this paper presents the result of a systematic review of the literature to better understand the factors which affect LVRRs deterioration and suggests a number of design approaches which could be utilised at low cost to withstand those factors. These include selecting and appraising the surface material that significantly resist water erosion as a major deteriorating factor, construction with provision of effective and efficient water drainage systems as well as timely consistent maintenance schemes and control on heavy traffic use particularly in rainy season.
Key words: rural roads, unsealed roads, Erosion, Sustainable Development, SSA.