Design and maintenance strategies for a rural road system

Australian state road authorities are confronted with the problem of upgrading and strengthening an ageing existing road system and concurrently extending the system, at a time when the funds available for road construction are very limited. The road planner's dilemma is one of obtaining a balance between demands, standards and funds with respect to the system as a whole and individual lengths of the system, taking into consideration present and future costs and funding levels. This note discusses the financial implications of various alternative designs and maintenance strategies considered for the rural road system by the main roads department, Queensland. It is concluded that pavements should be designed for longer rather than shorter design lives. In certain circumstances, measures other than increasing pavement thickness may be the most cost effective way of extending pavement life (a).