ABSTRACT
15.01 Highway maintenance is a problem affecting both rich and poor nations. Low-volume rural road maintenance typically suffers most from the institutional, financial and human resource constraints hampering the maintenance of national highway systems [102]. The spot-improvement, stageconstruction approach to improving rural transport infrastructure recommended in this handbook, whereby upgrading takes place only as needs are clearly demonstrated, farther increases the need for relatively high levels of maintenance once a proper level of accessibility is achieved. Often the distinction between construction activities, such as spot improvements and stage construction, and the usual concept of maintenance activities is completely blurred.
