Nigeria gravel road construction details

The unit cost of road construction in dollars per kilometer is the sum of the subunit costs of the road construction activities. Road construction unit costs are estimated by dividing the machine rates by the production rates for the various activities involved in road construction. The road construction activities considered here are surveying, clearing and grubbing, excavation, surfacing, and drainage.4.2 Surveying

Cutting the cost of road maintenance and improving road conditions are the main reasons why several Latin American countries have started to look for new ways of contracting out road maintenance. With technical assistance from the International Road Federation and German Aid, Colombia, Brazil, Guatemala, Peru and Uruguay have initiated so called Performance Specified Road Maintenance Contracts on a pilot basis. In addition, Argentina and Chile have let several such contracts recently. In this scheme the Road Authority serves as the owner, but out-sources both the management and production of the maintenance work to a single contractor. Most of these contracts have been operating for more than a year and cover routine maintenance and, in some cases, periodic maintenance and road rehabilitation as well. Extension of the road network, road surfaces and conditions, and the time period vary in each pilot project and will provide a wide basis for evaluation and improvements.

Planning with respect to road construction takes into account present and future uses of the transportation system to assure maximum service with a minimum of financial and environmental cost. The main objective of this initial phase of road development is to establish specific goals and prescriptions for road network development along with the more general location needs. These goals must result from a coordinated effort between the road engineer and the land manager, forester, geologist, soil scientist, hydrologist, biologist and others who would have knowledge or recommendations regarding alternatives or solutions to specific problems. The pattern of the road network will govern the total area disturbed by road construction.