Share:


Investigating the adverse impacts of rural roads using a fuzzy multicriteria approach

    Vineet Tirth Affiliation
    ; Makrand Wagale Affiliation
    ; Ajit Pratap Singh   Affiliation
    ; Ashoke Kumar Sarkar Affiliation
    ; Ram Karan Singh Affiliation
    ; Ali Algahtani Affiliation
    ; Saiful Islam Affiliation

Abstract

Rural roads contribute significantly to the living conditions of rural populations. However, they also lead to detrimental impacts on physical and social environments. In this context, the present study proposes a novel fuzzy multicriteria approach that amalgamates fuzzy TOPSIS and an improved fuzzy weighted average method to assess the negative impacts on physical and social environments, due to rural road construction. The approach offers a structured comprehension and incorporates detailed criteria that reflect the adverse effects. The attributes identified and assessed in this study are air quality, vegetation cover status, noise pollution, transmissible disease, habits/behaviour, safety and security, and road accidents. The approach includes both qualitative and quantitative data from focus group discussions. The results presented here are essential to identify corrective actions, promote effective distribution of funds, and facilitate effective decisionmaking for sustainable rural development.

Keyword : accidents, adverse impact assessment, rural development, roads construction, fuzzy TOPSIS

How to Cite
Tirth, V., Wagale, M., Singh, A. P., Sarkar, A. K., Singh, R. K., Algahtani, A., & Islam, S. (2021). Investigating the adverse impacts of rural roads using a fuzzy multicriteria approach. Journal of Civil Engineering and Management, 27(6), 441-453. https://doi.org/10.3846/jcem.2021.15264
Published in Issue
Jul 16, 2021
Abstract Views
861
PDF Downloads
590
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

References

Abur, C. C., Ademoyewa, G. R., & Damkor, M. (2015). Impact of rural roads infrastructure on the income and productivity of household’s farmers in North Central Nigeria. Research Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Management, 4(10), 451–458.

Aderamo, A. J., & Magaji, S. A. (2010). Rural transportation and the distribution of public facilities in Nigeria: a case of Edu local government area of Kwara State. Journal of Human Ecology, 29, 171–179. https://doi.org/10.1080/09709274.2010.11906260

Aggarwal, S. (2018) Do rural roads create pathways out of poverty? Evidence from India. Journal of Development Economics, 133, 375–395. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2018.01.004

Asif, F. (2012). The promise of rural roads. Transportation research circular E-C167: Review of the role of low-volume roads in rural connectivity, poverty reduction, crisis management, and livability. Transportation Research Board, Washington, DC.

Asomani-Boateng, R., Fricano, R. J., Adarkwa, F. (2015). Assessing the socio-economic impacts of rural road improvements in Ghana: a case study of Transport Sector Program Support (II). Case Studies on Transport Policy, 3(4), 355–366. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cstp.2015.04.006

Barnow, B. S., & King, C. T. (2000). Improving the odds: Increasing the effectiveness of publicly funded training. The Urban Institute, Washington, DC.

Bellman, R. E., & Zadeh, L. A. (1970). Decision-making in a fuzzy environment. Management Science, 17(4), B-141–B-164. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.17.4.B141

Berechman, J. (2009). The evaluation of transportation investment projects. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203873281

Binswanger, H. P., Khandker, S. R., & Rosenzweig, M. R. (1993). How infrastructure and financial institutions affect agricultural output and investment in India. Journal of Development Economics, 41(2), 337–366. https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-3878(93)90062-R

Chen, S. H., & Hsieh, C. H. (2000). Representation, ranking, distance, and similarity of LR type fuzzy number and application. Australian Journal of Intelligent Information Processing Systems, 6(4), 217–229.

Chen, S., Saeed, T. U., & Labi, S. (2017). Impact of road-surface condition on rural highway safety: A multivariate random parameters negative binomial approach. Analytic Methods in Accident Research, 16, 75–89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amar.2017.09.001

Chen, S., Saeed, T. U., Alinizzi, M., Lavrenz, S., & Labi, S. (2019). Safety sensitivity to roadway characteristics: A comparison across highway classes. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 123, 39–50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2018.10.020

Chen, X., Hellinga, B., Chang, C., & Fu, L. (2015). Optimization of headways with stop‐skipping control: a case study of bus rapid transit system. Journal of Advanced Transportation, 49(3), 385–401. https://doi.org/10.1002/atr.1278

Daigle, P. (2010). A summary of the environmental impacts of roads, management responses, and research gaps: A literature review. Journal of Ecosystems & Management, 10(3), 65–89.

Desapriya, E., Kerr, J. M., Hewapathirane, D. S., Peiri,s D., Mann, B., Gome,s N., Peiris, K., Scime, G., & Jones, J. (2012). Bull bars and vulnerable road users. Traffic Injury Prevention, 13, 86– 92. https://doi.org/10.1080/15389588.2011.624143

Feldacker, C., Ennett, S. T., & Speizer, I. (2011). It’s not just who you are but where you live: an exploration of community influences on individual HIV status in rural Malawi. Social Science & Medicine, 72(5), 717–725. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2011.01.003

Forman, R. T., & Alexander, L. E. (1998). Roads and their major ecological effects. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, 29, 207–231. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.29.1.207

Gachassin, M., Najman, B., & Raballand, G. (2010). The impact of roads on poverty reduction: a case study of Cameroon. World Bank, Washington, DC.

Hall, T., & Tarko, A. P. (2019). Adequacy of negative binomial models for managing safety on rural local roads. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 128, 148–158. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2019.03.001

Hine, J., Sasidharan, M., Eskandari Torbaghan, M., Burrow, M. P. N., & Usman, K. (2019). Evidence on impact of rural roads on poverty and economic development (K4D Helpdesk Report). Institute of Development Studies, Brighton, UK.

Kahraman, C., Yasin Ateş, N., Çevik, S., Gülbay, M., & Ayça Erdoğan, S. (2007). Hierarchical fuzzy TOPSIS model for selection among logistics information technologies. Journal of Enterprise Information Management, 20(2), 143–68. https://doi.org/10.1108/17410390710725742

Khandker, S. B., Koolwal, G., & Samad, H. (2009). Handbook on impact evaluation: quantitative methods and practices. World Bank, Washington, DC. https://doi.org/10.1596/978-0-8213-8028-4

Kanuganti, S., Sarkar, A. K., & Singh, A. P. (2016). Evaluation of access to health care in rural areas using enhanced two-step floating catchment area (E2SFCA) method. Journal of Transport Geography, 56, 45–52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2016.08.011

Kanuganti, S., Dutta, B., Sarkar, A. K., &, Singh, A. P. (2017). Development of a need-based approach for rural road network planning. Transportation in Developing Economies, 2, 314. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40890-017-0044-y

Labi, S., Faiz, A., Saeed, T. U., Alabi, B. N. T., & Woldemariam, W. (2019). Connectivity, accessibility, and mobility relationships in the context of low-volume road networks. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 2673(12), 717–727. https://doi.org/10.1177/0361198119854091

Liang, X., & Meng, X. (2019). An extended FTOPSIS method for freeway route selection in the pre-feasibility study stage. Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, 526, 120871. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physa.2019.04.107

Lopera, M. A., Mitnik, O. A., & Yañez, P. (2017). Impact evaluation in transport. Inter-American Development Bank, Washington, DC.

Luce, C. H., & Wemple, B. C. (2001). Introduction to special issue on hydrologic and geomorphic effects of forest roads. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms: The Journal of the British Geomorphological Research Group, 26, 111–113. https://doi.org/10.1002/1096-9837(200102)26:2<111::AID-ESP165>3.0.CO;2-2

Madej, M. A. (2001). Erosion and sediment delivery following removal of forest roads. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms: The Journal of the British Geomorphological Research Group, 26, 175–190. https://doi.org/10.1002/1096-9837(200102)26:2<175::AID-ESP174>3.0.CO;2-N

Mashiri, M. (2004). Community responses to HIV/AIDS along transit corridors and areas of intense transport operations in eastern and southern Africa. Reports to the UK Department for International Development (Transport Knowledge and Research program). IFRTD/CSIR Transportek, Karen Nairobi, Kenya.

Morris, C. N., & Ferguson, A. G. (2006). Estimation of the sexual transmission of HIV in Kenya and Uganda on the transAfrica highway: the continuing role for prevention in high risk groups. Sexually Transmitted Infections, 82(5), 368–371. https://doi.org/10.1136/sti.2006.020933

Muralidharan, K., & Prakash, N. (2017). Cycling to school: Increasing secondary school enrolment for girls in India. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 9(3), 321–350. https://doi.org/10.1257/app.20160004

Pedrycz, W. (1994). Why triangular membership functions?. Fuzzy Sets and Systems, 64(1), 21–30. https://doi.org/10.1016/0165-0114(94)90003-5

Porter, G. (2012). Reflections on a century of road transport developments in West Africa and their (gendered) impacts on the rural poor. EchoGeo, 20. https://doi.org/10.4000/echogeo.13116

Rand, J. (2011). Evaluating the employment-generating impact of rural roads in Nicaragua. Journal of Development Effectiveness, 3(1), 28–43. https://doi.org/10.1080/19439342.2010.545890

Riverson, J., Gaviria, J., & Thriscutt, S. (1991). Rural roads in subSaharan Africa: lessons from World Bank experience (Report No.WTP 141). World Bank, Washington, DC.

Saeed, T. U., Hall, T., Baroud, H., & Volovski, M. J. (2019). Analyzing road crash frequencies with uncorrelated and correlated random-parameters count models: An empirical assessment of multilane highways. Analytic Methods in Accident Research, 23, 100101. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amar.2019.100101

Shi, Y., Olson, D. L., & Stam, A. (2007). Advances in multiple criteria decision making and human systems management: Knowledge and wisdom. IOS Press.

Sinha, K. C., & Labi, S. (2011). Transportation decision-making: Principles of project evaluation and programming. Wiley & Sons.

Singh, A. P., Dhadse, K., & Ahalawat, J. (2019). Managing water quality of a river using an integrated geographically weighted regression technique with fuzzy decision-making model. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 191(6), 378. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-019-7487-z

Suresh, K. P. (2011). An overview of randomization techniques: an unbiased assessment of outcome in clinical research. Journal of Human Reproductive Sciences, 4, 8–11. https://doi.org/10.4103/0974-1208.82352

Trombulak, S. C., & Frissell, C. A. (2000). Review of ecological effects of roads on terrestrial and aquatic communities. Conservation Biology, 14, 18–30. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1523-1739.2000.99084.x

Tsunokawa, K., & Hoban, C. (Eds.). (1997). Roads and the environment: a handbook. World Bank, Washington, DC. https://doi.org/10.1596/0-8213-4031-X

Tunde, A. M., & Adeniyi, E. E. (2012). Impact of road transport on agricultural development: a Nigerian example. Ethiopian Journal of Environmental Studies and Management, 5, 232–238. https://doi.org/10.4314/ejesm.v5i3.3

Triantaphyllou, E., & Sánchez, A. (1997). A sensitivity analysis approach for some deterministic multi‐criteria decision‐making methods. Decision Sciences, 28, 151–194. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5915.1997.tb01306.x

Van de Walle, D. (2009). Impact evaluation of rural road projects. Journal of Development Effectiveness, 1, 15–36. https://doi.org/10.1080/19439340902727701

Wagale, M., & Singh, A. P. (2019). The application of adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system and fuzzy Delphi technique to assess socio-economic impacts of construction of rural roads. Transport and Telecommunication Journal, 20(4), 325–345. https://doi.org/10.2478/ttj-2019-0027

Wagale, M., Singh, A. P., & Sarkar, A. K. (2019a). Impact of rural road construction on the local livelihood diversification: Evidence from Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana in Jhunjhunu district, India. GeoJournal, 85, 961–978. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-019-10007-3

Wagale, M., Singh, A. P., & Sarkar, A. K. (2019b). Exploring rural road impacts using fuzzy multi-criteria approach. In S. Pulugurtha, I. Ghosh, & S. Biswas (Eds.), Lecture notes in civil engineering: Vol. 34. Advances in transportation engineering (pp. 1–12). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-7162-2_1

Wagale, M., & Singh, A. P., & Sarkar, A.K. (2021). Socio-economic impacts of low-volume roads using a mixed-method approach of PCA and Fuzzy-TOPSIS. International Review for Spatial Planning and Sustainable Development, 9(2), 112–133. https://doi.org/10.14246/irspsda.9.2_112

Wang, Y. M., Chin, K. S., Poon, G. K., & Yang, J. B. (2009). Risk evaluation in failure mode and effects analysis using fuzzy weighted geometric mean. Expert Systems with Applications, 36(2), 1195–1207. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eswa.2007.11.028

Wondemu, K. A., & Weiss, J. (2012). Rural roads and development: evidence from Ethiopia. European Journal of Transport and Infrastructure Research, 12(4). https://doi.org/10.18757/ejtir.2012.12.4.2977