Safe and sustainable transport for rural communities
Safe and sustainable transport for rural communities

Rural Access is Vital

Transport is fundamental to economic growth and the delivery of basic services. Low volume roads are the principal form of transport in the rural parts of most low-income countries. People require access to reach basic services and all kinds of economic and social opportunities. However, an estimated one billion people live further than 2 km from an all-season road. Isolated communities are often left behind in development.

The overall objective of the UK aid-funded Research for Community Access Partnership (ReCAP) is to improve accessibility of the rural poor in Africa and Asia to economic opportunities and social facilities through improvements to infrastructure and transport. The immediate focus is on strengthening the evidence base on more cost effective and reliable low volume road and transport services approaches, thereby influencing policy and practice. ReCAP focuses its activities on Africa and Asia, through the Africa (AfCAP) and Asia (AsCAP) Community Access Partnerships respectively, and builds on previous UK aid-funded research programmes. 

Rural Access is Vital

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Latest News

We are excited to launch the Rural Road Note  01: A Guide on the Application of Pavement Design Methods for Low Volume Rural Roads (LVRR). 

The Rural Road Note (RRN) provides guidance on pavement design methods used in the design of LVRR, ranging from earth roads through gravel surfacing to the various unbound, natural stone, bituminous, cement-based and clay brick surfacing and pavement layers. The RRN compiles the lessons learnt from the design, construction, supervision and monitoring of a range of pavement and surfacing types investigated under SEACAP in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam; AFCAP 1 and ReCAP programmes, together with the knowledge compiled from various related studies in Southern Africa and South-East Asia.

The RRN, prepared by TRL Ltd., is aimed at engineers, road managers and other practitioners involved with the planning and design of low volume rural roads in developing and emerging countries in tropical and sub-tropical climates.

A range of additional resources are at your disposal to learn more:

  • A podcast on the Rural Road Note has been recorded by TRL to provide you with an overview of its purpose and content.
  • A training series consisting of seven modules is available on YouTube; the playlist can be accessed here.
  • The Rural Road Note can be downloaded from the ReCAP website.

Please do not hesitate to share these valuable resources in your networks.

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