Launching of the Low Volume Sealed Roads Guideline
Under the Second Medium Term Plan (2013 – 2017) of Vision 2030, the Government increased spending on infrastructure expansion and modernization, which included programmes for expansion of the paved road network coverage from 7.5% (12,000 km) to 15% (24,000 Km). The paved road network was about 2,000km at independence implying that it took 50 years to upgrade 10,000km. The ongoing road expansion programme is therefore very ambitious, aiming at upgrading 12,000km to paved standard in five years.
To increase the speed of implementation and to achieve the wider objectives of Vision 2030, it was necessary to adopt appropriate pavement design methods and related materials specifications that lead to environmentally optimized road designs, which minimize design, construction and maintenance costs.
Updating Road Design Manuals and Specifications through enhanced research activities on road construction materials and methods is a major function of MTRD.
The Ministry of Transport, Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development through the Materials Testing developed the Pavement Design Guideline for Low Volume Sealed Roads (PDG-1), and Research Department (MTRD) with technical assistance of TRL Ltd. of the United Kingdom under the Africa Community Access Programme (AfCAP) funded by the UK government through the Department for International Development (DFID). The Guideline, which takes into account the best practices in low volume roads technology both regionally and internationally, provides a major tool in upgrading low volume roads optimally.
The development of the Guideline was undertaken in close consultation with our stakeholders in the roads sector including Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA), The Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA) and the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA); Roads Department, the Kenya Institute of Highway and Building Technology (KIHBT); County Governments; Regulating agencies: The Kenya Roads Board (KRB), the Kenya Bureau of standards (KEBS), the Institute of Engineers of Kenya (IEK), The Consulting Engineers Association (ACEK), Engineering Colleges in Kenya: The University of Nairobi (UoN), Jomo Kenyatta University of Agricultures and Technology (JKUAT), Technical University of Kenya (TUK); and, Representatives of engineering consulting firms: Abdul MullicK Associates Ltd; APEC Consortium Ltd, CAS Consulting Engineers Ltd, Gibb International Ltd, Norken International Ltd, Egis International Ltd, and Max & Partners Ltd.
The launch of the Guideline by the Cabinet Secretary was done in June 2018 and it is envisaged that uptake of this research outcome will provide a means for more efficient and effective design and construction of low volume sealed roads in Kenya. In so doing, a substantial contribution to improved road infrastructure and in the process enhanced economic growth and development will be attained.