The Roads Department of the Cape Province of South Africa manages a rural road network that includes 16,900 km of paved roads and 51,750 km of unpaved roads. Unpaved roads are usually considered of lesser importance, because in the Cape Province these roads typically carry between 20 and 300 vehicles per day. The expenditure on their maintenance is, however, the same as that for paved roads. The aim of this paper is to present the characteristics of the unpaved road management system, which includes a gravel management system, to demonstrate the relationship of these systems in the planning process; and to document the experience gained with implementation of the system. The Maintenance and Design System (MDS) was used as a basis for the management system, although extensive adjustments were made to cater to local practice and requirements. It has been 3 years since the system was implemented. To date, 38,000 km of the unpaved network has been evaluated, and the information has been entered into the data base. On the basis of experience in the Cape Province, the management of unpaved roads should be an integral part of the management process of any road authority.
Abstract