ABSTRACT
Road transport plays a central role in the economic development of most countries. Role of road Large numbers of passengers and large tonnages of goods are moved by road, t ransport Industry, agriculture and commerce rely on road transport for both inputs and outputs, and their production relies to a large extent on effective and efficient transport operations. In the emerging countries of Central and Eastern Europe alone, the annual requirement for operations and maintenance requirements is of the order of US$14 billion. This means that roads represent a large sector with large revenue and expenditure requirements: roads are 'big business'. A n effective road transport system is essential to the development of national economies. It is therefore important that road networks are also managed effectively and efficiently.
