- Title
- Irregular maintenance of gravel roads: its impact on access to social and economic services
- Creator
- Madyibi, Yonela Makaziwe
- Subject
- Gravel roads
- Subject
- Roads -- Maintenance and repair
- Date Issued
- 2022-04
- Date
- 2022-04
- Type
- Master's theses
- Type
- text
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10948/58385
- Identifier
- vital:59066
- Description
- The Eastern Cape remains the poorest and most rural province in South Africa. Roads in the province are generally in a poor condition and over the years they have been deteriorating, particularly in the rural areas. There is a general lack of regular maintenance of roads in most rural municipalities and in certain instances, this is exacerbated by the lack of resources. Intsika Yethu Municipality (IYM) is a rural municipality in the Chris Hani District served by a road network with a large number of gravel roads which are in a poor condition. The majority of the residents have sparse access to basic services and amenities. Consequently, they travel long distances, for at least an hour, to access services. The study adopted a quantitative research method. A structured questionnaire was designed to collect data and non-probability and probability sampling procedures were utilised. A detailed statistical data analysis was conducted to test probable relationships between variables utilised in the research tool. The findings of this study revealed that the gravel roads in the area are not maintained regularly. During rainy seasons the roads become slippery, while several are flooded and unusable. Such condition of roads makes the rural areas to be generally inaccessible to essential service workers i.e. teachers, and healthcare workers. The findings further revealed that most gravel roads in IYM have not been maintained in the past 5 years. The drive along the network of roads is poor due to structural defects. Furthermore, the vehicles are forced to drive at a relatively slow speed. The condition of the poor roads affects the response time of emergency service transport. The response time averages between 3-12 hours depending on the distance of the area from the main towns. The condition of roads results in increased transport and travelling costs. The poor quality of the roads in the area makes it unattractive to skilled essential workers which has a negative impact on the residents. The research concludes that if gravel roads are maintained regularly, residents’ access to amenities could be improved and their livelihood could be enhanced.
- Description
- Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Engineering, the Built Environment, and Technology, 2022
- Format
- computer
- Format
- online resource
- Format
- application/pdf
- Format
- 1 online resource (xvi, 149 pages)
- Format
- Publisher
- Nelson Mandela University
- Publisher
- Faculty of Engineering, the Built Environment, and Technology
- Language
- English
- Rights
- Nelson Mandela University
- Rights
- All Rights Reserved
- Rights
- Open Access
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| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | SOURCE1 | Madyibi, Y.pdf | 3 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |