This document discusses challenges with developing and maintaining rural roads in difficult to access areas. It recommends designing simple, high error margin techniques that use local materials and have low maintenance requirements. While gravel roads have low initial costs, they have short lifespans due to erosion and lack drainage. Public transportation in rural India is also limited, forcing many to use bicycles or motorcycles rather than buses.

1. INTRODUCTION :-
• A major constraint with developing and
maintaining rural roads is the fact that they
are, unfortunately, rural.
•The areas where they are needed are often
difficult to access, logistics become
complicated, local contracting capability is
limited, engineers are few and far between,
and younger engineers especially, are not
keen to leave the urban environment.

2. • We need somehow to keep our design and
construction techniques to take into account
capability and the limited knowledge on
quality procedures. How do we do it?
• Design simple, high error margin techniques
with low maintenance regimes .
• Use local materials as much as possible.
• Remember the cheapest option is probably
the worst option no matter what the
economic analysis or traffic volume figures
indica.

3. • There are many issues surrounding the low
initial-cost provision of gravel roads. These
include:
• Short road-life expectation due to erosion and
wear
• Lack of drainage and watercourse crossings
• Damage to health and detriment to farming
productivity from dust
• Damage to road users and equipment from
rough roads.

5. • The public transport system in the country is
not in good shape. The data clearly shows that
there is lack of public transport and citizens
are largely dependant on private transport.
• People are forced to depend on primitive
modes of transport like bicycles (26.3 million)
and two-wheelers (25.4 million) in rural and
urban India.

6. • It is important to note that higher number of
people use two-wheelers, compared to bus
(22.9 million).
• Mode Used to Travel to Work – India (2011)
(Figures in %)