USAID support for rural roads is generally confined to the development or rehabilitation of one- or two-lane roads. These may be constructed to provide farmers access to markets or to increase community access to services, such as health care or schools. In some cases USAID may also provide support to improve roads leading to or into protected areas in order to encourage tourism.
In this chapter, you will learn about:
- Common types of environmental damage from road projects.
- Proper planning of road projects to avoid environmental degradation.
- Putting operation and maintenance programs into effect to prevent and mitigate environmental impacts.
- Best means of decommissioning roads to prevent erosion and loss of resources.
References and Useful Resources
- Keller, G., and James Sherar (2003). Low-Volume Roads Engineering: Best Management Practices and Field Guide. Washington, DC: USAID, USDA, and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/24000/24600/24650/Index_BMP_Field_Guide.htm
The guide also has an extended bibliography for readers in need of more depth or detail regarding specific issues and applications. In addition to the topics listed below, the extended bibliography offers references for hydrology for drainage crossing design; tools for hydraulic and road design including Manning's Formula, riprap, filters, and the use of geosynthetics; general considerations for drainage of low-volume roads; fords and low-water crossings; physical, vegetative and biotechnical methods of erosion control; and stabilization of gullies. The extended bibliography can be found at http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/24000/24600/24650/Chapters/Q_Selected_References.pdf.
Best Management Practices - General
- Environmental Protection Agency (2005). National Management Measures to Control Nonpoint Source Pollution from Forestry. EPA Contract No. 68-c7-0014, Work Assignment #2-20. Prepared for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Water by Tetra Tech, Fairfax, Virginia. http://www.epa.gov/nps/forestrymgmt/
A comprehensive guide to measures for reducing water pollution from roads and logging activities.
- Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation (1987). Acceptable Management Practices for Maintaining Water Quality on Logging Jobs in Vermont. http://www.gwriters.com/saf/documents/AcceptableManagementPractices31.pdf
- Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (2010). Wisconsin's Forestry Best Management Practices for Water Quality: Field Manual for Loggers, Landowners and Land Managers. Publication No. FR-093. http://dnr.wi.gov/files/pdf/pubs/fr/FR0093.pdf
- World Bank, Transport Division of the Environmentally Sustainable Development Vice-Presidency and Transportation, Water & Urban Development Department. Washington, D.C. http://www.worldbank.org/transport/r&h_over.htm
Links to tools and literature covering many dimensions of road construction, including planning, financing, institutional management, safety, construction and maintenance, environment, and tolls, among others.
- Tsunokawa, Koji, and Christopher Hoban, eds. (1997). Roads and the Environment: A Handbook. World Bank Technical Report TWU 13, and update WB Technical Paper No. 376. World Bank, Washington, D.C. (Part II details specific environmental, social, and other impacts). Online: http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTTRANSPORT/Resources/336291-1107880869673/covertoc.pdf
- Laurance, William F., et. al. (2009). Impact of roads and linear clearings on tropical forests. Trends in Ecology & Evolution. Vol. 24, Issue 12. P. 659-669 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169534709002067
- Pardo, Carlos Felipe, et. al. (2010). Sustainable Urban Transport. Shanghai Manual – A Guide for Sustainable Urban Development in the 21st Century. P. 1-38 http://www.un.org/esa/dsd/susdevtopics/sdt_pdfs/shanghaimanual/shanghaimanual.pdf
Planning Issues and Special Applications
- Dykstra, D. and R. Heinrich (1996). FAO Model Code of Forest Harvesting Practice. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome. http://www.fao.org/docrep/V6530E/V6530E00.htm
- Keller, G., G. Bauer and M. Aldana (1995). Minimum Impact Rural Roads (Caminos Rurales Con Impactos Minimos). Training manual written in Spanish for the USDA Forest Service International
Programs, USAID, and Programa de Caminos Rurales, Guatemala City, Guatemala. (Manual is currently being rewritten in English.)
This manual is currently being rewritten in English and is not yet available electronically. For a copy, contact Gordon Keller at the USDA Forest Service, Sierra Cascade Province, Plumas National Forest, 159 Lawrence Street, Quincy, CA 95971, United States, Tel: 1-530-283-2050, Fax: 1-530-283-7746, Email: gkeller@fs.fed.us.
- Oregon Department of Forestry (2000). Forest Roads Manual. Forest Engineering Coordinator, State Forests Program, Oregon Dept. of Forestry, Salem, OR (503-945-7371). http://www.oregon.gov/ODF/STATE_FORESTS/Roads_Manual.shtml
This manual provides basic information about logging road design, construction and maintenance.
- Tanzania National Parks, et al. (2001). TANAPA Programmatic Environmental Assessment for Road Improvements in Tanzania National Parks. Four volumes, including Environmental Management Guidelines for Road Improvements. September. http://www.encapafrica.org/docs/tanapa-pdf.zip
Basic Engineering Considerations for Low-volume Roads
- Australian Road Research Board Limited (2009). Unsealed Roads Manual: Guidelines to Good Practice. Vermont, South Victoria, Australia. 3rd Edition. Available to order at http://www.arrb.com.au/Information-services/Publications/Reports-Manuals/Pavements.aspx
A useful manual for gravel road design and maintenance, particularly in semi-arid regions.
- Casaday, E. and B. Merrill (2001). Field Techniques for Forest and Range Road Removal. Eureka, California. California State Parks, North Coast Redwoods District. 63p. http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=23071
A useful field guide to road closure and obliteration, with great photos and figures.
- Lesbarreres, D. and L. Fahrig (2012). Measures to reduce population fragmentation by roads: what has worked and how to we know? Trends in Ecology & Evolution. Vo.. 27. Issue 7. P. 374-380 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169534712000341
Culvert Use, Installation, and Sizing
- Normann, J.M., R.J. Houghtalen and W.J. Johnston (1985) (Reprinted 1998). Hydraulic Design of Highway Culverts. Hydraulic Design Series No. 5. Tech. Rep. No. FHWA-IP-86-15 HDS 5. September. McLean, VA: Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Office of Implementation. 265 p. http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/engineering/hydraulics/pubs/hds5si.pdf
Includes a comprehensive design for both conventional culverts and culverts with inlet improvements.
Bridge Location and Design Factors
- American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (2002). Standard Specifications for Highway Bridges (17th Edition). ISBN Number: 1-56051-171-0 Available for purchase at: https://bookstore.transportation.org/item_details.aspx?ID=51
Covers the design of wood, steel, and concrete bridges, as well as structural plate structures.
- Larcher, P. Low Cost Structures for Rural Roads: A Review of Existing Books, Manuals, and Design Guides
.
- Management of Appropriate Road Technology (MART) Working Paper No. 13. Institute of Development Engineering, Loughborough University, Leicestershire. http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_emp/---emp_policy/---invest/documents/publication/wcms_asist_9592.pdf
Slope Stabilization and Stability of Cuts and FIll
- Mohney, J. (1994). Retaining Wall Design Guide. 2d ed. Tech. Rep. No. EM-7170-14. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Engineering Staff. Also, Pub. No. FHWA-FLP-94-006. September. Washington, D.C.: Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Federal Lands Highway Program. 537 p. http://www.ntis.gov/search/product.aspx?abbr=PB97194401
Covers the analysis and design of a wide variety of retaining walls.
Roadway Materials
- ARRB Transport Research Ltd. (1996). Road Dust Control Techniques: Evaluation of Chemical Dust Suppressants' Performance. Spec. Rep. 54. Victoria, Australia. Available online at: http://www.arrb.com.au/admin/file/content13/c6/SR54_RoadDustControl.pdf
Covers the products available, how they work, selecting the product, and the product's environmental impacts.
HIV/AIDS Prevention
- HEARD - Health Economics and HIV/AIDS Research Division, University of Natal, Durban, RSA. http://www.heard.org.za/
Provides toolkits, presentations, publications, links, statistics and more.
- Rau, B. 2002. Workplace HIV/AIDS Programs: An Action Guide for Managers. Family Health International. 85 p. http://www.fhi.org/en/HIVAIDS/pub/guide/Workplace_HIV_program_guide.htm
Climate Change Resources
Note: USAID's Global Climate Change (GCC) Office can provide support on the climate change aspects of this Guideline. To contact the GCC office, please email: climatechange@usaid.gov
- USAID. 2007. Adapting to Climate Variability and Change: A Guidance Manual for Development Planning. http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNADJ990.pdf
- USAID. 2009. Adapting to Coastal Climate Change: A Guidebook for Development Planners. http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNADO614.pdf
The guidances provide information to assist planners and stakeholders as they cope with a changing climate throughout the project cycle.
- USAID. 2013. Addressing Climate Change Impacts on Infrastructure. (Especially “Transportation”, pages 7-10). https://dec.usaid.gov/dec/GetDoc.axd?ctID=ODVhZjk4NWQtM2YyMi00YjRmLTkxNjktZTcxMjM2NDBmY2Uy&rID=MzM2Njkx&pID=NTYw&
attchmnt=VHJ1ZQ==&uSesDM=False&rIdx=NDM2MzY4&rCFU=
- National Communications are submitted by countries to the UNFCCC and include information on country context, broad priority development and climate objectives, overviews of key sectors, historic climate conditions, projected changes in the climate and impacts on key sectors, potential priority adaptation measures, limitations, challenges and needs. http://unfccc.int/national_reports/non-annex_i_natcom/items/2979.php
- The World Bank’s Climate Change Knowledge Portal is intended to provide quick and readily accessible climate and climate-related data to policy makers and development practitioners. The site also includes a mapping visualization tool (webGIS) that displays key climate variables and climate-related data. http://sdwebx.worldbank.org/climateportal/
- National climate change policies and plans. Many countries have policies and plans for addressing climate change adaptation.
- AGC of America. 2009. Climate Change and the Construction Industry. http://www.agc.org/galleries/advy/ClimateChangeandConstruction.pdfhttp://www.agc.org/galleries/advy/ClimateChangeandConstruction.pdf
- International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA). FasTips #3. February 2013. Climate Smart Decisions. http://www.iaia.org/publicdocuments/special-publications/fast-tips/Fastips_3%20Climate%20Smart%20Decisions.pdf
- International Forum for Rural Transport and Development. Forum News: v. 16, issue 2. 2012. Climate Change and Rural Roads. http://ifrtd.gn.apc.org/files/uploads/FN16.2%20Climate%20change%20and%20rural%20roads.pdf
- United States Environmental Protection Agency. 2013. Transportation Impacts & Adaptation. http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/impacts-adaptation/transportation.html
Documents Disponibles en Francais
- Direction des évaluations environnmentales Directive pour la réalisation d’une étude d’impact sur l’environnement d’un projet de route, Ministère du Développement durable, de l’Environnement et des Parcs, Gouvernement du Québec Septembre 2010. http://www.mddep.gouv.qc.ca/evaluations/documents/Routes.pdf
- Manuel de Gestion de l’environnement pour le Ministère des Transports du Nouveau Brunswick approbation du Manuel de Gestion de l’environnment, Quatrieme edition Janvier 2010. http://www.gnb.ca/0113/publications/EMM/EMM-f.pdf
- Banque Africaine de Développement Lignes Directrices Pour l’évaluation intégrée des impacts environmentaux et sociaux, Annex 7
Routes et Chemin de Fer. http://www.afdb.org/fileadmin/uploads/afdb/Documents/Policy-Documents/Lignes%20Directrices%20pour%20L'evaluation%20Integree%20des%20Impacts%20Envitonmetal%20aux%
20et%20Socieux.pdf
Documents Disponibles en Espanol
- Ingeniería de Caminos Rurales: Guía de Campo para las Mejores Prácticas de Gestión de Caminos Rurales por Gordon Keller, PE y James Sherar, PE USDA, Forest Service. Producido por US Agency for International Development (USAID (2008). http://www.fs.fed.us/global/topic/sfm/roads_manual_espagnol_012908.pdf
- Guía Básica para el Manejo Ambiental de Carreteras. Programa nacional de competividad. Esta Guía es parte del proyecto Paz con la Naturaleza con alcances dirigidos hacia los conceptos PML (Producción Más Limpia) y una primera aproximación del país al concepto 0-E (Cero Emisiones); complementado con aportes de factores y efectos minimizadores con influencia dentro de los fenómenos relacionados con los cambios climáticos y el calentamiento global (Sin Fecha). http://www.competitividad.go.cr/Apoyo%20Medio%20Ambiente/Lineamientos/Guias/3.%20Gu%C3%ADa%20Ambiental%20-%20Carreteras.pdf
- Manual Buenas Prácticas Medioambientales Carreteras de Aragón. Gobierno de Aragón, departamento de Obras Públicas, Urbanismos y Transportes. http://www.aragon.es/estaticos/GobiernoAragon/Temas/Carreteras/Documentos/manual_buenas_practicas_medioambientales.pdf