Rural road diagnosis index RRDI condition assessment model

Abstract

Rural roads are a very important part of the road infrastructure in the Lebanon and its municipalities since they form the major means of transportation and link between the different villages. The main problem facing the Lebanese government and the municipalities is the lack of a condition assessment method of the rural roads. This project solves this problem by developing a condition assessment model entitled the "Rural Road Diagnosis Index" (RRDI). The RRDI model i) identifies the different rural roads condition criteria, mainly the level of service, safety and physical condition; ii) develops a hierarchy of the criteria with respective sub-criteria, chiefly speed, number of cars, threat of accidents, barriers, intersections, asphalt and drainage condition; 3) evaluates the weights of the criteria and sub-criteria using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP); and 4) evaluates the diagnosis index RRDI using the diagnosis index method. Data were collected via field visits visual inspection, in addition to the help of the municipality of Amioun and the Ministry of Public Works. The model is applied on fourteen (14) rural roads forming the main rural roads of Koura district. These were found with an index of 2.0 on average. This project is very important and useful for the municipalities and government, since it develops an index based on the real condition of the road.