DESIGN OPTIMAL RURAL ROAD NETWORK USING GIS

Abstract

To have an effective development among the isolated, remote areas, rural transportation is recognized as a key factor. Efficient rural transportation depends largely on a well-knit road network to provide accessibility and mobility in rural areas. This work affords an applied method for the development of rural road networks in rural areas of developing countries. The proposed methodology enables to determine nodal points in the rural road network based on the facility index of the settlements. The rural road network is generated by connecting the nodal points by minimum travel time path in Geographical Information System (GIS). Spatial analysis is carried out in the study area to identify the Desirable Coverage Distance of the Facility(DCDF). The Village Facility Index (VFI) is calculated by considering the desirable coverage distance. The suggested methodology is simple and practical, hence, highly applicable to real-world scenarios, as demonstrated in the definition of the road network for the rural areas.