Abstract
The Provincial Administration of the Western Cape in South Africa is responsible for 18,900 km of proclaimed roads, of which 10,500 km are unsurfaced. A formal gravel road management system has been in operation since 1989 that assists in prioritizing projects for regraveling and upgrading gravel roads to surfaced standards. Because of fund limitations for upgrading gravel roads to surfaced roads, there is a need to optimize performance of the gravel road network and maximize use of knowledge and latest research results for southern Africa. Staff shortages and loss of in-house expertise made external assistance necessary to improve service to road users. Processes formalized, implemented, and planned for this purpose included (a) upgrading the gravel road management system to quantify benefits, prioritize activities, and select maintenance and improvement measures; (b) appointing consulting engineers in each district to help manage borrow pits, materials design, training, construction supervision and quality control, maintenance planning and control, and performance monitoring; (c) communication about project priorities, construction programs, work methods, construction team performance, and activity costs; and (d) development of an operational web-enabled system to manage all activities related to unsurfaced roads. Within 1 year, a remarkable difference in gravel road performance was observed without a significant reduction in productivity. Total transportation costs were lowered with only a marginal increase in agency costs. Continuous communication among system operators, design engineers, project managers, and construction teams is considered one of the most important aspects in optimizing performance of the Western Cape low-volume road network. This study highlights the most important changes in management, systems, design, and construction and the practical innovations responsible for the successes achieved as a potentially valuable aid to those involved with providing and maintaining low-volume roads.
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