Performance-Based Routine Maintenance of Rural Roads by Maintenance Groups: Guide for Communications Bureaus

Abstract

According to 2011 road data, there are 214,524 kilometers of roads in Yunnan Province, of which 102,982 kilometers are township roads and 37,100 kilometers are village roads. Of these township and village roads, less than 6% have either concrete or (simple) asphalt pavement; while just over 94% are classified as unpaved, including 3% with stonepaved surfaces (4% of township roads and 1% of village roads), 63% with gravel surfaces (72% of township roads and 37% of village roads), and 28% with earthen surfaces (17% of township roads and 58% of village roads). kilometers and comprise 62% of the total road network in Yunnan Province. The maintenance of these unpaved rural roads is, therefore, very important for ensuring continued access to the province's rural areas and for economic development in these areas. Many roads are currently impassable for a number of months each year, in part due to a lack of timely maintenance.This chapter looks at the deterioration process of these unpaved roads and identifies a suitable maintenance strategy to address this deterioration and ensure better road conditions as well as more continuous access.