Australian rural road project appraisal revisted

Abstract

The World Bank has developed a new set of tools aimed at reducing the costs and/or increasing the benefits of roads in the rural areas of developing regions and countries. The change in the methods of highway appraisal highlights the need to comprehend the relevance of this new international approach for Australian transport engineers/planners. The traditional and the newer approaches are considered separately, though a combination of the two is possible. As northern Australia is likely to be the prime recipient of new and upgraded rural roads, use is made of a series of local and overseas case studies within a radius of 3500 km of Darwin to glean the lessons of past experience. This analysis of past experience in northern Australia, Thailand and the Philippines is preparatory to outlining the relevance of the newer approach to Australian conditions. Show more