Project assistance completion report, rural roads maintanence rehabilitation project no. 517-0130, loan agreement no. 517-T-033, grant agreement no. 517-0130

The project achieved its targets. At the national level, it established a separate road maintenance department with about 35 administrative and technical employees within the General Directorate of Rural Roads (GDRR). At the regional level, the project staffed and equipped seven offices with 105 employees and seven sub-regional facilities. At the local level, the project trained 700 personnel to perform daily routine maintenance and mobilized community members to develop effective cooperation with the GDRR and a long-term capability to maintain rural roads. A permanent training capability was established at all three levels. During the course of the project, 1,200 km of rural roads were rehabilitated, and 1,200 km were placed under the maintenance program. An inventory of 12,000 km rural roads was completed including detailed information on road conditions and requirements for network planning. A major lesson learned is that the Dominican Republic's past difficulty in maintaining rural roads can be partially attributed to the lack of a trained civil service. It is imperative that continued monitoring be carried out to avoid more costly reconstruction.