From 2008 through 2018, the length of Nepal’s Strategic Road Network doubled and its Local Road Network almost tripled. While the government of Nepal has focused on road network coverage, the problem of maintaining the built road network has become increasingly apparent. Some Strategic Road Network roads have inadequate geometric, drainage, and safety features, and many Local Road Network roads are non-engineered and become impassable after one or two years. Road maintenance is limited by the lack of both adequate funding and modern techniques and systems. The lack of road maintenance has led to an increase in the cost of transport as well as a reduction in road safety.

The objective of the DT Global implemented Road Management Project is to maintain road quality across the Nepal’s Strategic Road Network. First, the project provides technical assistance on road maintenance planning, assessment, and implementation to strengthen the Department of Road’s and Roads Board Nepal’s capacity to plan and execute routine and periodic maintenance. These interventions are reinforced by a learning-by-doing approach to conducting maintenance on these roads. This maintenance work will reduce road roughness and associated vehicle operating costs. The expectation is that by equipping the Department of Roads with the data, skills, and experience necessary to plan and implement road maintenance, combined with an increased level of funding under an improved road maintenance funding regime, the Strategic Road Network will be adequately maintained and the road quality will not deteriorate.

Results to date include:

• Provided a range of advisory support and independent engineering services, and collected and analyzed field data to perform needs assessment and analysis of the documentation made available by the Nepalese road agencies.
• Introduced new road construction and maintenance technologies, namely Full Depth Reclamation and Superpave high modulus asphalt (a first in the region outside of India). Full Depth Reclamation was identified as a potential pivotal and industry advancing technology that, despite the large barriers to entry and technology/skill gaps in Nepal, would prove extremely useful in the long-term.
• Led the introduction of pavement design on the Road Recycling Project with Full Depth Reclamation and Superpave high modulus asphalts and conducted HDM-4 analysis for the Road Recycling Project with Full Depth Reclamation and Superpave high modulus asphalts.
• Drafted the terms of references for the data collection program on the Structural Road Network in Nepal, the technical assistance program for the Road Asset Management System, for eventual construction, for the acquisition of the laboratory and in situ equipment to control the design, and for implementation of Full Depth Reclamation and Superpave technologies in Nepal.
• Conducted capacity development to provide a holistic system and support structure for long-term usability, including training courses for the technical evaluation committee Chairman to select the suppliers for the equipment to mix design Full Depth Reclamation pavements and Superpave asphalts, and prepared an International Federation of Consulting Engineers training for the road agency representatives.