The importance of maintenance is increasingly
recognized as we continue in the 21st century. With the Interstate highway
system essentially in place, the focus of transportation programs is shifting
from capital investment to maintenance and operation.An effective and efficient road transport
system mostly requires regular road maintainance.Road transportation forms an important part of the social safety
net, facilitating the distribution of wealth through trade and employment
opportunities in both urban and rural communities.Road transportation
facilitates the movement of people, goods and services in all sectors of the
economy, including tourism, mining, trade, health, education and agriculture,
among others. An effective and efficient road transport system reduces cost and
comparative distances between trading partners, thereby increasing trade
effectiveness and maximizing returns on existing industrial investments and
production.The present condition of the roads is said to not only pose a challenge to trading and economic activities for the people in the district,but has been described as a death-trap for drivers and traders who ply the roads on a daily basis.Traders and farmers are worst_affected as they have difficulty in carting food produce and goods to surrounding market centres.The major trends that
affect maintainance include:
• Slow growth of Infrastructure ,
so the maintenance, preservation, and rehabilitation of existing infrastructure
are becoming increasingly more important
• Technology is changing the kinds of
information and infrastructures that must be maintained. As we are in 21st
centure , various Advanced technology is increasingly being incorporated into
the transportation infrastructure, and as a result, new maintenance procedures
and a very different set of skills for maintenance managers as well as maintenance
workers are must for the proper maintainance.
• Technology is affecting how maintenance is
performed.
• Recruiting and retaining a
skilled DOT work force are becoming more difficult
• Environmental concerns continue
to have a significant effect on maintenance.