The present methods of rural roads construction and maintenance are largely labour based methods. However, labour based methods are slow and often result in sub-standard quality of work produced. It is therefore expected that an appropriate man-machine combination should be worked out. Such an approach is necessary for improved standards of construction required for rural road development in future and also to meet an accelerated pace of developmental activities. Since tractors are increasingly available in many rural areas and in large numbers, it was considered most appropriate to make use of various agricultural implements towed by tractors for different road construction operations. operations. For carrying out the various operations, a survey was made of the existing agricultural implements suitable for road construction. With the identified implements, a number of road construction operations were carried out. The data obtained from the study was analysed to determine the technical and economic feasibility of labour intensive and tractor bound techniques. An economic evaluation of low-cost road construction techniques using labour based and tractor based techniques has also been attempted. Based on studies, it is evident that the deployment of tractor based techniques would result in substantial economy with the added benefit of better finished quality of work and considerable time saving in project. (A)
Samenvatting