Policy for Sustainable Low-Volume Rural Roads in Costa Rica

The main issues that have been addressed in the Costa Rican government’s policy for low-volume rural roads are discussed. As in most developing countries, providing good roads to support the growing demand for agricultural and tourism activities has been a great challenge, especially in times of important budget limitations. The Costa Rican experience is shared in the hope that it can prove useful in other countries, because its impact has not been limited to just providing better roads; it is also helping to motivate widespread citizen participation and to improve technical and organizational capabilities of the local governments. Because the majority of the rural roads are managed by local governments, whose administrative and technical capacity has been limited in the past, the central government, through the Ministry of Public Works and Transportation, has developed a comprehensive policy based on simple technology transfer programs and regulations for these organizations, while at the same time inducing a method of investment planning that requires organized citizen participation. The program, called Participative Road Conservation, has become the center of the government’s policy. Some of the highlights of the program are presented. The strategy of the program has been to give straightforward guidelines in organizational issues of road maintenance at the local government level (including the local road committees), basic technical standards to be followed, and planning methodologies. One of the fundamental principles of the program is the sharing of responsibilities for adequate road maintenance, including financial contributions, among the communities, the local government, and the central government. This policy for sustainable rural roads is making a change in the road maintenance culture of the country. It has required educational programs concerning the importance of roads, the correct way to build and maintain them, adequate control of the work, and so forth. Once the community is involved in planning and rehabilitating a road, it is more likely that the road will not be allowed to deteriorate again. Even children are involved in a program of school patrols. The financial reforms that have been made in Costa Rica to attend to the needs of the national and municipal road systems are also addressed.