Journal of Bangladesh Institute of Planners ISSN 2075-9363

Vol. 11, 2018 (Printed in June 2020), pp. 77-87, © Bangladesh Institute of Planners

Impacts of Rural Road Development on Local Traffic:

A Case Study of Tangail District
Md. Touhidur Rahman*
S M Shihab Nur**

Abstract
Construction and maintenance of rural roads bring multiple socio-economic benefits to
the people of rural areas as well as significant change in the movement of local traffic. The
aim of this study is to assess the impacts of rural roads development of the pattern of local
traffic. The study area of this research is Tangail, which is a district of Bangladesh. For
completing the study, data were collected from whole Tangail district by doing
questionnaire surveys and holding focus group discussions with shopkeepers and
officials of Local Government Engineering Department (LGED), which is the responsible
authority for construction and maintenance of rural roads. Besides, educational
institutions were also surveyed and information regarding land use changes were
collected. Before the development works, people were mainly dependent on non-
motorized transport modes and most of the roads were not usable throughout the year.
After the development works, the non-motorized modes have declined and volume of
motorized modes has increased significantly. At present, 87.3% shopkeepers are getting
more customers than before and average reduction in freight cost is 35.42 BDT. The
number of semi-paved and paved residential buildings has also increased. Students, who
are a major part of the local traffic, their attendance in schools has increased dramatically
as a result of road development. However, development of rural roads has also created
some problems to the local people such as heavy traffic and increased number of accidents
because of high speed of motorized vehicles.

Introduction
In Bangladesh, most of the people (64.96%) live in rural areas and majority of them are
poor who have very limited access to high quality inputs and to local markets because of
infrastructure limitations (Trading Economics, 2016; World Bank, 2014). Improved roads
and infrastructures can create opportunities for economic growth and poverty reduction
through a range of mechanisms (Khandker, Bakht, & Koolwal, 2009). Roads reduce
transportation costs, as well as the costs of consumption and production of goods and
services (BIDS, 2004). On the contrary, inadequate roads and poor road access put high
cost on transportation as well as put constraints on rural poor in terms of their access to
social infrastructures, such as education and health facilities (Oraboune, 2008).
When transport sector is efficient, it provides various economic and social opportunities
and benefits that result in positive multiplier effects such as better accessibility to

* Research Consultant, Research Development and Training Division, Center for Environmental
and Geographic Information Services (CEGIS), Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Email: touhidur002@[Link]
** Graduate Student, Department of Geosciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL-36849.
Email: szn0051@[Link]
78 Journal of Bangladesh Institute of Planners, Vol. 11, 2018

markets, employment, education, health and additional investment (Ooterhaven &

Knaap, 2000). Roads are viewed as a means of socio-economic development because they
link regions, places, people and economic activities. The expansion and improvement of
a given road network would contribute to increase in accessibility and mobility, while
reducing the distance to destinations, travel costs and travel time; despite these social
and economic benefits, road networks are also perceived as cultural artifacts that lead to
negative ecological effects (Patarasuk, 2013).
Particularly rural roads are somewhat typical in terms of their capacity to literally pave
the way for various investments in social infrastructure sectors such as schools, health
services, and security services. In case of agriculture sector, better roads can significantly
reduce the cost of inputs such as fertilizers, seeds, and extension services (Dercon et al.,
2008). On the output side, better roads increase the scope of profitable trade, which in
turn encourages on-farm investments to raising agricultural production (Binswanger et
al., 1993). This in turn raises rural incomes, lower food prices, reduces spatial inequality
in food prices, and reduces dependence on food imports. If road infrastructure in well
managed, it transforms the quality of life of citizens through dynamic externalities that
its development often generates (Sengupta et al., 2007). It is evident that improvement of
rural roads has multiple socio-economic effects on the rural people as well as on the
quantity and quality of traffic volume. However, the aim of this study is to assess the
impacts of rural road development on local traffic, which is based on the case study of
Tangail district.

Materials and Methods

Study Area Profile
Tangail, which is a district of Bangladesh is selected as the study area as several road
improvement projects have recently been carried out in Tangail. Tangail is the largest
district of Dhaka division by area which is composed of 12 Upazilas1 and 109 Unions2. It
lies between 24° 01′ and 24° 47′ North latitudes and between 89° 44′ and 90° 18′ east
longitudes. There are three types of roads in the rural areas of Tangail, which are Union
Road, Village Road A and Village Road B. According to LGED (2009), by definition,
Union roads are those which connect Union administrative headquarters with Upazila
administrative headquarters, growth centers or local markets or with each other.
Village Roads A are those which connect villages with Union headquarters, local
markets, farms and inland village ports or with each other. Village Roads B are those
roads which connect the areas within a village.
According to LGED databases (2017), the sum of total road network in Tangail district is
8249.25 km, out of which 1167.53 kilometers (km) are Union Road, 3391.78 km are Village
Road A and 2749.57 km are Village Road B.

1 Upazila is a local administrative unit of Bangladesh. A district is divided into multiple

Upazilas for administrative advantages.
2 Union is local administrative unit of Bangladesh. Several Unions comprise a Upazila.
Impacts of Rural Road Development on Local Traffic: A Case Study of Tangail District 79

Literature Review
Asian Development Bank (2011) conducted a study in Chhattisgarh, India and found that
there has been a significant increase in the number of trucks, mini buses, cars and taxies
in the roads which have undergone road improvement works than the roads on which
no improvement works were carried out. Again, Asian Development Bank (2014) in the
validation report of one of their projects mentioned that there has been a significant
increase in average vehicle speed in some of the roads of Philippines after the
improvement works. ADB found that vehicles now run at an average speed of 61.9 km/h
in those roads compared to their pervious average speed of 12.5 to 17.5 km/h.
Islam et al. (2008) showed that traffic condition in Afghanistan changed drastically after
the redevelopment of several roads. They found that traffic volume has increased by 58
percent than before, after the Kabul-Kandahar-Herat road was improved.
According to Adejedi et al. (2014), in Osun State of Nigeria, roads were initially unpaved
which were not usable throughout the year and the traffic volume was mainly consisted
of pedestrians and non-motorized vehicles; however, after the road development works,
the number of motorized vehicles has increased significantly and the roads have become
usable throughout the year.
As a result of reconstruction of a highway from two-lane to four-lane in New Mexico, the
average travel time reduced on the rural portion of the highway; also the vehicle operating
costs reduced mainly due to less fuel consumption although the accident rates increase by 36
percent than before (Tarefder, 2015). Sloman et al. (2017) found that road improvement works
have various short term and long term effects on traffic and travel behavior of people, which
include shift of transportation mode, change in destination and generation of more trips.
According to Goodwin (1996), an average road improvement, for which traffic growth due to
all other factors is forecast correctly, will see an additional (i.e. induced) 10% of base traffic in
the short term and 20% in the long run.
World Bank (1996) in its impact evaluation report of Morocco, studied four roads onto
which development works were carried out and they found the most direct impact was
the elimination of frequent road closures during rainy periods, as the improved roads are
open to traffic year-round. Other impacts were: reduction in the vehicle operating cost,
lower prices for freight and passenger services than in roads that were not improved,
increased volume of traffic with a high portion of motorized vehicles, change in the
ownership of motorized vehicles and drastic change in travel time.

Data Collection and Analysis

The objective of this study has been to identify the impacts of rural roads development
on local traffic. To fulfill the objective, a survey was conducted in 12 Upazilas of Tangail
district. Three kinds of roads were selected for survey from each Upazila.
a) A road having improvement works done. Here improvement is defined as changing
the surface of the road from Earthen to Herring-Bone-Bond (HBB) or Bituminous
Carpeting (BC).
b) A road having further improvement works done. Further improvement means
changing the road surface from HBB to BC.
c) A road having maintenance works done, which means repairing the old BC surface.
80 Journal of Bangladesh Institute of Planners, Vol. 11, 2018

From every Upazila 3, roads were selected onto which development works were recently
been carried out and a total of 36 roads have been selected from whole Tangail district.
Information regarding change in traffic volume and transportation mode as well as
annual average daily traffic (AADT) were collected from LGED for the selected roads for
both before and after improvement works. However, to verify the collected data, present
traffic volume on the selected roads was counted manually on hourly basis for a time
period of three days.
Separate questionnaires were prepared for holding focus group discussions with local
peoples, shopkeepers, drivers and educational institutions; checklists were also prepared
for observation survey. Questions were asked only to the people who use the roads
regularly. Total sample is consisted of responses from 240 local peoples, 45 drivers, 79
shopkeepers, 103 students and teachers.

Results and Discussion

Variations in Transportation Modes
From Figure 1, it can be seen that in case of Union Road, there is a significant reduction in
the number of people who used to go to their destinations by walking. Also there is a
significant reduction in the percentage usage of rickshaw and van. On the other hand, the
use of Auto-rickshaw and Auto-van has increased a lot after the development works.
Before the development works, the roads were not suitable for motorized vehicles. But
after the development works the number of motorized vehicles has tremendously
increased and people are also eager to use them because of speed and convenience. In
case of Village Road A, same situation is seen as Union Road.
120
Percentage change in transportation modes (before and after developent )
100
19.55 18.55
Percentage

80
50.2 38.65
21.05 27.25 64.25 64.25
60 3.15 5.05
7.15 5.6
1.55 4.9
40 29.3 7.8
4.35
17.7 14.3 14.3
20 13.25 45.1 5.85 34.2
7.8 13.95 21.45 21.45
0 2.25 5
Before After Before After Before After
Union Village A Village B

Road Category
Auto-rickshaw Rickshaw Cycle Motor Cycle

Figure 1: Change in transportation modes according to road category

People living in the villages connected by Village Road B were habituated to go to their
destinations mainly by walking and using rickshaw. After the development works, there
is no change in their transportation modes usage. New motorized vehicles have not been
introduced in Village Road B even after the development works. So people have no other
choice but using the old modes.
Impacts of Rural Road Development on Local Traffic: A Case Study of Tangail District 81

Diverted Traffic
Figure 2 shows that in case of Union Road and Village Road A, the maximum diverted
traffic consist of rickshaw, Auto-rickshaw, van and car.

120.0 Diverted traffic

100.0
9.6 12.7
6.4
Percentage Change

80.0 8.5 11.9

11.7 7.1
9.5
60.0 11.7
12.7 100.0
14.9
40.0 11.9
7.4
9.5
20.0 17.0
16.7
12.8 7.9
0.0
Union Village A Village B

Rickshaw Auto-rickshaw Tempo

Van Car Truck
Bus Cycle Motor cycle

Figure 2: Percentage change in diverted traffic according to road category

In case of Village Road B, the only diverted traffic is truck. The reason is that people
living in the villages connected by Village Road B show no changes in their
transportation mode usage (Figure 1). As there is no demand for new transportation
modes in Village Road B, there is no variety in diverted traffic on these roads.

Average Change in Traffic Volume

In case of improvement and further improvement (Figures 3 and 4) in Union Road, there
has been a reduction in the average volume of Rickshaw and Van. On the other hand,
average volume of Auto-rickshaw and CNG has increased.
82 Journal of Bangladesh Institute of Planners, Vol. 11, 2018

Further improvement of road and average Improvement of road and average

traffic volume traffic voume

50 60

50 5 7.89
40 9.6
7.16 40 11.17 Bus

Average Percentage Change

Average Percentage Change

30
16 Truck
6.87 30 5.92
20 Car
49.44
2.4 8 20 CNG
10 21.25 7 28.44 Van
10 10
7.14 Auto-rickshaw
0
-4.43 0 Rickshaw
-10.25 -3.65
-10 -10.8 -20 -10 -18.64 -8.5
-4.37
-20 -20 -6.37
-30 -30
Union Village Village B Union Village A

Figure 3: Average change in traffic volume Figure 4: Average change in traffic volume
and further improvement of road and improvement of road

Similar situation is seen in case of improvement and further improvement of Village

Road A and further improvement of Village Road B. In addition, average volume of car
and truck has increased in Village Road A and Village Road B. Before development
works, Village Road A and Village Road B had limited accessibility for heavy vehicles
like truck. So after the development works the average volume of truck has increased
because of good accessibility (Figure 5).
Maintenance of road and average traffic
volume
120

100
Average Percentage Change

80 22.7 Bus
Truck
60 24.3 Car
CNG
40 21.37 5
7.12 Van
8.5 Auto-rickshaw
20 3.5
26 Rickshaw
17.28
0
-15.71
-20 -4.85
Union Village A
-40

Figure 5: Average change in traffic volume and maintenance of road

Impacts of Rural Road Development on Local Traffic: A Case Study of Tangail District 83

In case of maintenance (Figure 3) in Union Road, the average volume of Rickshaw and
Van has decreased. At the same time, the average volume of Auto-rickshaw, CNG, car
and truck has increased tremendously.

Road Usability
Even after the development works, 19% roads in the villages of Tangail are not usable
throughout the year. During rainy season many roads go under water. Among the
unusable roads, 6.7% is Union Road and 63.7% is Village Road A and 29.4% is Village
Road B.
As a result of road development, 87.3% shopkeepers are getting more customers than
before. All the additional customers use the roads which have been developed. After the
development works, 78.5% roads have new transportation modes those were not
previously available due to poor condition of roads. Table 1 shows the new
transportation modes in the three kinds of roads according to the intervention types;
however, there is no significant relation between intervention type and new modes
introduced.

Table 1: New modes according to intervention type

Intervention Type Road Type New Modes

Improvement Union Road Truck, Auto-rickshaw, Auto-van
Village Road A Truck, Auto-rickshaw, Auto-van, Car, CNG
Village Road B No new mode
Further Improvement Union Road Truck, Auto-rickshaw, Auto-van, CNG
Village Road A Truck, Auto-rickshaw, Auto-van
Village Road B Auto-van
Maintenance Union Road Bus, Auto-rickshaw, Auto-van, CNG
Village Road A Truck, Auto-rickshaw, Auto-van, CNG
Village Road B No new mode

Source: Shopkeepers’ survey

Changes in Land Use

Road development works cause land use changes in surrounding areas and these new
land uses cause significant impact on local traffic including increased traffic volume and
change in transportation modes. Figure 6 shows that after the development works, the
maximum level of increase is seen in the number of local shops for all three categories.
The new shops have been constructed mainly alongside the road. Good accessibility has
increased demand for consumer goods which has paved the way of new local shops
construction. The number of semi-paved and paved residential buildings has increased.
Because of the widening of the roads and change in surfacing it has now become easy to
bring construction materials to village areas which was previously troublesome.
84 Journal of Bangladesh Institute of Planners, Vol. 11, 2018

120.0 Land use change

100.0 7.7

Percentage Change
12.3
10.8
80.0 Industries
50.0
60.0 33.1 52.5 Haat/Bazar

40.0 Local Shops

30.0
23.8 50.0 Residential
20.0
18.5 11.5 Educational
0.0
Union Village A Village B
Road Category

Figure 6: Percentage change in land use after the development works.

Some educational institutions and Haats/Bazars (village markets) have been constructed
in case of Union Road and Village Road A. In case of Union Road, 7.7% vacant land has
been converted into industrial use.

School Attendance
Students constitute a major portion of local traffic, particularly during the morning times,
when schools start. Again students generate a lot of motorized and non-motorized trips
which is also subject to change because of road development works. From Figure 7, it can be
seen that attendance in primary schools has increased for all three types of intervention.
Maximum attendance increase is seen in case of Improvement. Before the improvement
works, the surface of the roads was earthen and only a few motorized vehicles used to run on
them. After the improvement works, most of the road surfaces have been converted from
earthen to bituminous carpeting. As a result, the number of motorized vehicles has increased
rapidly. It has become more convenient for the children to reach primary schools by using
these motorized modes which were not previously available.

Intervention type and peoples' response to change in attendance

90.0
80.0
7.9
Percentage Response

70.0 5.3 21.0

60.0 4.0
21.0
50.0 12.0 18.4 Madrasa
40.0
12.0 College
30.0
20.0 44.7 3.0 44.0 12.0 39.5 High
9.0 10.6
10.0 16.0 Primary
9.0 10.6
0.0
increase

increase

increase
Increased

Increased

Increased
Didn't

Didn't

Didn't

Improvement Intervention
FurtherType Maintenance
Improvement
Figure 7: Intervention type and change in attendance in various educational institutions.
Impacts of Rural Road Development on Local Traffic: A Case Study of Tangail District 85

Again before the improvement works, the earthen roads could not be used in rainy
reason. Many of the roads got submerged during heavy rainfall. But after the
improvement works, students face no such kind of problem which increased their
attendance (Table 2). Good accessibility and motorized modes have reduced
transportation time and cost.

Table 2: Total attendance increase and girls’ attendance

Peoples’ Response to Change in Percentage of Girls’
Intervention Type Attendance Attendance in Increased
Increase Did not Increase Attendance

Improvement 78.9% 21.1% 93.3%

Further Improvement 60% 40% 92.9%
Maintenance 78.9% 21.1% 92.6%

Source: Authors’ calculation based on Educational Institutions’ Survey

Negative Impacts of Village Roads Development

All construction works have some positive and negative impacts. Similarly,
developments of rural roads not only do only benefit to rural people but also creates
some problems to them (Table 3).

Table 3: Problems after road development according to the perception of local people
New Problems Percentage of the problem compared to other Rank of the
problems problem
Congestion 20 3rd
Heavy Traffic 24 1st
Noise 14 4th
Crime 6 5th
Air Pollution 14 4th
Accidents 22 2nd

Source: Author’s calculation based on local peoples’ survey

Heavy traffic is the most severe problem that the people are facing. Before the
development works, the surface condition of roads was not suitable and roads were not
wide enough to support large vehicles like trucks. After the development works many
new local shops and residential buildings have been constructed alongside the roads. For
carrying construction materials, the number of trucks using Union Road and Village
Road has been increased which is creating problems to rural people.
The second problem is the increased number of accidents. Before development works,
people mainly use non-motorized modes such as Rickshaw and Van. The non-motorized
vehicles did not create any major accidents. But after the development works, the use of
motorized modes such as Auto-rickshaw, Auto-van etc. has been increased. As the
motorized modes have increased, the number of accidents has also increased.
86 Journal of Bangladesh Institute of Planners, Vol. 11, 2018

Congestion is the third problem. Increased number of motorized vehicles is the main
reason behind this problem. Again after the development works, land use alongside the
roads has changed to some extent. Many new local shops and residential buildings have
been constructed which is creating congestion.

Conclusion and Recommendations

This study shows the impact of rural roads development on local traffic in Tangail
district. This was done by comparing the conditions of traffic before and after the
development works. After the development of roads, a significant change can be seen in
traffic volume and peoples’ choice of transportation modes in Tangail. Also the standard
of living of rural people has increased although they are facing some problems for
increased volume of traffic. To ensure sustainable development of rural areas, there is
need for integrated development which seeks to develop all sectors of the rural economy
and link them up effectively with their urban counterpart. However, rural roads are not
maintained properly. The authority in charge should take necessary steps to ensure
proper maintenance of roads after development works.
Acknowledgement: We are grateful to our honorable teachers Dr. Md. Musleh Uddin Hasan, Mr. Rafsun
Mashraky, and Ms. Uttama Barua, Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Bangladesh University of
Engineering and Technology (BUET) for their kind advices towards successful completion of this research.

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