Prioritization Procedure for Improvement of Very Low-Volume Roads

Abstract

A practical methodology for prioritizing road works on low-volume and very low-volume roads in the rural areas of developing countries is described. The methodology is based on a system for estimating future traffic on improved roads on the basis of readily available data. Moreover, the method accommodates the need to consider the opening of roads that may be currently impassable to motor traffic. The procedure is simple and transparent, and therefore it is well suited to implementation at the district level. It allows for certain basic parameters, such as minimum thresholds for viability of investments, to be set by decision makers, thereby permitting and defining the role of politicians in the process.