Abstract:
This paper presents the application of the World Bank’s Road Network Evaluation Tools (RONET) model to strategic network-level analysis of the Serbian state low-volume road (LVR) network. This network condition deteriorated considerably during the 1990s as a result of the underfinancing of its operations and maintenance. In recent years, financing for the road sector has gradually increased and focuses on the most hazardous and highly trafficked parts of the network. However, the overall budget allocated to the sector remains inadequate to maintain the entire state road network in stable condition. The goals of the presented study are to obtain the optimum maintenance and rehabilitation (M&R) strategy and related budget, estimate the impact of different funding levels on future quality, and estimate the economic consequences of budget constraints for the M&R of the LVR network. Application of the RONET model to the prevailing conditions on the Serbian LVR network led to an optimal M&R strategy with a good balance between rehabilitation and periodic and recurrent maintenance. Implementation of the optimal M&R strategy would cause major improvement compared with the current condition of the LVR network. Implementation of higher M&R standards would lead to substantially higher road agency costs and, consequently, lower net benefits, whereas the implementation of lower M&R standards would lead to considerably worse network condition for approximately the same or slightly lower agency costs. This situation means that even minor budget constraints would result in considerably worse network condition and much higher total road transport costs.
