Road maintenance
Road maintenance is a continuous process in order to keep a road in good condition. Generally, Routine Maintenance (RM) and Periodic Maintenance (PM) are prescribed for this purpose. RM consists of pothole patching, crack sealing, edge repair and drainage maintenance, whereas, PM covers resealing, Double Bituminous Surface Dressing (DBST), carpeting and overlay.
Several studies have shown that roads deteriorate earlier than expected if no maintenance is done. Many paved (bituminous) roads have become gravel (non bituminous) roads due to lack of maintenance in Sub-Saharan Africa. The condition of roads and drainage systems in our country, especially major corridor roads (N1, N3, etc.), is similar in some places, because of poor maintenance.
There are many reasons for this situation. However, one of the main issues is insignificant funds for road maintenance. The Roads and Highway Department (RHD) has been developing Annual Needs Report to manage its road assets effectively and scientifically. The well-known Highway Development and Management (HDM-4) model is being used to derive maintenance demand where the current road condition and traffic data are used as input to the model. The current Annual Needs Report suggested Tk.87 crore, Tk.1,486 crore and Tk.1,826 crore for the first year (2010-11) for RM, PM and backlog removal, respectively. However, the allocated amount is too little and cannot help in improving the road network.
Therefore, there should be an adequate and timely budget, as a small percentage cannot solve the problem. Rather, un-maintained roads will deteriorate more, which give rise to demand for more maintenance in future. About Tk.3,400 crore is necessary in the first year to improve the overall situation and keep the road network in good condition. Economic analysis shows that overall transport cost is optimum when roads are good. Hence, it is a must to keep the road network in good condition by allocating adequate budget in the initial years. The positive thing is that less money is needed for maintenance when a road network is kept in good condition.
Based on the timely, available and adequate funds, RHD may plan to complete the procurement process by November to start the works immediately.
Routine and drainage maintenance should be conducted all through the year, especially potholes have to be patched immediately. RHD may consider an integrated plan to improve pavement sub-surface and surface drains in the bazaar areas. Axle load control through weighbridges is urgently needed, and will extend pavement life. As pavement modulus (layer strength) decreases and roads become weak during moisture intrusion (rainy season), overloaded vehicles have to be stopped from plying over the waterlogged pavements.
Finally, the government may introduce Road User Charges (RUC) and overloading and road damage fees to get adequate road maintenance fund in the future. It is believed that the current poor performance will be tremendously improved if adequate and timely funds are ensured.
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