Experts develop manuals for rural roads

Experts in the road construction sector converged on Abuja to develop manuals to guide engineers and road builders in constructing low volume roads. The manuals, which set out a comprehensive approach to designing, constructing and maintaining rural access roads, was to ensure that roads are built with appropriate standards, using limited available resources. “We have […]

Experts in the road construction sector converged on Abuja to develop manuals to guide engineers and road builders in constructing low volume roads.

The manuals, which set out a comprehensive approach to designing, constructing and maintaining rural access roads, was to ensure that roads are built with appropriate standards, using limited available resources.

“We have visited several states and observed that a special approach needs to be provided to ensure that roads are constructed to appropriate standards that will meet the needs of the rural communities,” said Phil Haslock of Royal Haskoning DHV, at a three-day stakeholders workshop, organized by Rural Access and Mobility Project (RAMP II) in Abuja.

Also speaking, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Audu Ogbeh, said the poor condition of the nation’s over 160,000km rural roads necessitates the development of standard specifications for building low volume roads to provide greater access to rural dwellers.

Salamatu Jibaniya of Federal Project Management Unit, RAMP II, assured that appropriate measures would be put in place to ensure that the manuals are used in road construction.

“The implementation of these manuals would mean that more roads will be constructed with cost effectiveness, while rural farmers will have more access to the markets,” she said.