In the 21st century, no one can think about living without a strong communication network powered by the Internet, TV, Social Media, Mobile Phones, and whatnot. These communication networks provide virtual connectivity, whereas, physical connectivity is a whole different world. The importance of roads can be well explained to a person who understands this simple concept of connectivity and where life would take him or her in the absence of this extended connectivity. Roads are a complex Civil Engineering structure with ancillary infrastructure facilities.
What is the Importance of roads?
Human connectivity on earth is largely dependent upon a road network. All the areas of life, be it education, health, economics, or social spheres are there where they are today compared to the past due to this extended network of roads stretching around the globe enabling people to commute from one place to another.
If you are a student, you cannot get to your university, college, or school, as efficiently as in the presence of roads. Imagine commuting on dirt roads at a speed of a few miles per hour, how absurd and stone-aged that sounds. The immediate benefits of having a good road network are as follows.
- Roads open opportunities to commute between two towns, cities, and countries—for employment, living, health, education, and traveling.
- Roads make the movement of products and persons quicker.
- Roads make access to locations with mountainous terrain possible.
- Enables the government to generate income by employing toll roads.
- Last but not least, the road network made it simpler to travel in the rain or snow.
Importance of Roads in Urban Areas
Modern city expansion procedures include the construction of urban road infrastructure systems. Worldwide, roads comprise millions of kilometers and are the primary mode of transportation and important infrastructure utilized every day by millions of commuters. The infrastructure of the road network is without a doubt regarded as a substantial and important public asset that has to be properly managed throughout its entire cycle. In metropolitan regions, the quality of the road infrastructure has a direct impact on the population’s quality of life, including their health, safety, economic possibilities, and working and recreational environments.
It is essential for urban areas to establish a higher level of connectivity with fairly equal opportunities to far off places from CBD (central business district) to ensure higher investment opportunities, foreign investments, and consumer or buyer satisfaction. It has been observed that lacking a comprehensive road network fall behind in terms of financial and infrastructure growth.
Importance of Roads in Rural Areas
They are crucial for reducing rural poverty, facilitating the movement of people, materials, and products, encouraging the diversity of agricultural practices, and promoting both rural and national economic growth. Rural roads are therefore essential to the development of the nation. The improvement of earning prospects again for the rural poor is mostly due to rural roads.
Roads provide improved transportation options by establishing connections, rural roads considerably contribute to the accessibility of goods and services that are situated in adjacent villages or large towns and marketplaces. This implies that by providing better transportation options, rural roads may help rural producers get greater access to market hubs and assure greater accessibility of inputs and natural resources at lower rates, both of which can have a significant influence on the economic potential of the rural poor. Simply defined, rural producers can earn a solid income and significantly enhance their revenue if they can go to marketplaces to sell their goods or purchase raw materials to upgrade production.
Roads increase production and activity in agriculture: Rural roads are crucial for supporting agricultural growth. By ensuring that the farmer receives timely access to water, seeds, and other agricultural inputs, a robust network of rural roads helps improve agricultural activity. If the quality of agricultural products is high, farmers will be able to sell those products for higher prices on the market, which will increase their income. Profits may rise as a result of this. In addition to directly reducing rural poverty by raising the income of low-income households, an increase in agricultural output can also have an indirect impact on poverty by increasing agricultural salaries and lowering food costs.
Ensures agricultural diversification: A rural road network may encourage the development of cash crops and the commercialization of agricultural operations. This implies that rural residents can use cutting-edge farming techniques and enhance their output in order to sell more goods.
Roads network increases labor and material mobility and saves time: The presence of roads in rural regions expands the range of rural subsistence beyond the rural production border. Rural roads typically allow for faster travel times, and the time saved can enable the rural poor to be more productive and earn more money. Farmers might utilize the time saved to work in non-farm jobs to supplement their income. Thus, roads in rural regions allow for the merging of agricultural and non-agricultural economic activity, and this diversity improves the quality of life for the rural populace.
Conclusion on importance of roads
There should be a balance between expenses of governmental funds but roads and other moods of connectivity should be highly prioritized when deciding budget allocations. It is never a waste of money to improve and acquire high-speed and high-quality ensuring road networks. And roads influence in many different ways, all the various outlooks of human economic, cultural, and social human life.
