Optimizing Rural Road Conservation Expenditures
Publication: Journal of Transportation Engineering
Volume 114, Issue 1
Abstract
A methodology of optimizing expenditures for rural road maintenance and rehabilitation is presented. The optimum schedule for pavement overlay and rehabilitation is determined, resulting in minimal costs during the road's economic horizon. In developing countries, the economic horizon usually varies between 10 and 20 years; in Ecuador, it was established at 17 years. During this period most of the road's socioeconomic benefits are obtained. The economic residual value is small relative to other transportation expenditures. Total expenditures during the service lifetime include construction, maintenance, pavement overlay or rehabilitation, and vehicle‐operating costs. The methodology was used in the evaluation of 2,700 km of rural roads in the Ecuadoran province of Chimborazo. The analysis shows that total expenditures will be the least when adequate, timely maintenance is implemented. Due to budget and other administrative limitations, maintenance cannot always be carried out as needed. In such cases, a precise schedule of pavement overlay or rehabilitation should be followed to ensure that total expenditures during the road's service lifetime are minimal. An optimal programming methodology is presented for pavement overlay as a function of road type, traffic volume, type of terrain, and maintenance level. The conclusions were found to be practical and economical for arid, subtropical, and tropical zones.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
1.
Berger, L., and Greenstein, J. (1984). “Use of pocket computers for rehabilitation of rural roads in Dominica.” Transp. Res. Rec., 997, 90–98.
2.
Berger, L., and Greenstein, J. (1985). “A simple socioeconomic methodology for road improvement.” N. Am. Pavement Mgmt. Conf., Ontario Ministry of Transportation and Communication/U.S. Federal Highway Administration, 2, 5.102–5.112.
3.
De Weille, J. (1966). “Quantification of road user savings.” World Bank Staff Occasional Paper 2, the Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, Baltimore, Md.
4.
Green, J. L., and Hall, J. M., Jr. (1975). “Nondestructive vibratory testing of airport pavements.” Experimental test results and development of evaluation methodology and procedure (Report FAA‐RD‐205, Publ. WES TR S‐75‐14), Federal Aviation Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, Vol. 1, Sep.
5.
Greenstein, J. (1982). “Pavement evaluation and upgrading of low cost roads.” Transp. Res. Rec., 875, 26–32.
6.
Greenstein, J., and Bonjack, H. (1983). “Socioeconomic evaluation and upgrading of rural roads in agricultural areas of Ecuador.” Transp. Res. Rec., 898, 88–94.
7.
Greenstein, J., and Livneh, M. (1979). “Thickness design of low‐volume roads,” Transp. Res. Rec., 702.
8.
Greenstein, J., and Livneh, A. (1981). “Pavement design of unsurfaced roads.” Transp. Res. Rec., 827, 21–26.
9.
Heukelom, W., and Klomp, A. J. G. (1962). “Dynamic testing as a means of controlling pavements during and after construction.” Internat. Conf. Struct. Design of Asphalt Pavements, Univ. of Michigan, 667–679.
10.
Structural design of low‐volume roads, synthesis 4: transportation technology support for developing countries. (1982). Transportation Research Board National Research Council, Washington, D.C.
11.
Ullidtz, P. (1977). “Overlay and stage by stage design.” Fourth Internat. Conf. Struct. Design of Asphalt Pavements, University of Michigan, 1, 722–735.
12.
Ullidtz, P., and Peattie, K. R. (1980). “Pavement analysis by programmable calculators.” J. Transp. Engrg., 106(5), 581–597.
13.
Winfrey, R. (1969). Economic analysis for highways. Internat. Text Book Co., Scranton, Pa.
14.
Wiseman, G., Uzan, J., Hoffman, M. S., Ishal, I., and Livneh, M. (1977). “Simple elastic models for pavement evaluation.” Fourth Internat. Conf. Struct. Design of Asphalt Pavements, University of Michigan, 6, 416–426.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Transportation Engineering
Volume 114 • Issue 1 • January 1988
Pages: 40 - 56
Copyright
Copyright © 1988 ASCE.
History
Published online: Jan 1, 1988
Published in print: Jan 1988
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.