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 …

The length of the unpaved road network prohibits its being monitored by sophisticated and
expensive means. Consequently, visual monitoring was adopted to evaluate the condition of
the road and the need for specific actions. Ideally, such visual inspections could be done by
the district road superintendents during their threemonthly visits to the roads under their
jurisdiction. Setting up the system was beyond the staff capabilities of the Roads
Department, and a consulting engineering group was appointed for the implementation in …

The Roads Department of the Cape Province of South Africa manages a rural unpaved road
network of 51 750 km of main and divisional roads. In addition, an 84 000-km length of minor
roads is currently not included in the formal management systems. The unpaved roads
typically carry between 20 and 300 vehicles per day. The expenditure on their maintenance
is, however, of the same magnitude as is spent on paved roads but is fully justified where
these roads serve the mining industry, major agri-ro, 11.......,., 1.,,."".,'-""'" J tA11ricm ThP-> im …