ABSTRACT
The benefits from investments in rural roads are well understood both by the communities who demand them for improved access to essential economic and social facilities and the policy makers who see their impact on poverty reduction and economic growth. However, rural roads pose particular challenges in terms of their effective management and sustainable use. Rural roads usually make up the majority of the road network in any country but only carry a fraction of the traffic. The extent and physical isolation of the network poses problems for managing construction and long term maintenance and the local authorities tasked with management of the network very often don’t have the expertise, financial resources, or incentive structure to effectively carry out their responsibilities. It is therefore important to have close coordination between the various stakeholders involved in rural roads provision from the national government to the beneficiary communities.
