Rural road

PES covers the period 7/80-7/82 and is based on a review of office files, site visits, and conversations with GRB Highway Department and USAID/B officials. While the evaluation is mixed, progress has been made toward highway completion and road workers and their families, along with other area inhabitants, are benefitting financially from the project. The road is making favorable changes in accessibility to socioeconomic and development activities as it nears completion, and full ration levels provided in the Food for Work Program (FFW) are believed justified. Interviewed workers are happy with their increased incomes, nutritional levels, and new skills acquired from on-the-job training, while the GRB is benefitting from a tested prototype which can be used on other road construction projects. Nevertheless, the project"s estimated completion date of 6/84 is 6 months behind schedule, and the project budget may prove insufficient to construct the entire road to the necessary all-weather standard. In case of insufficient funding, due to an increase in the minimum wage and other factors, A.I.D. and the GRB will split the additional expense. Rock in earthwork is delaying completion due to delays in receiving jack hammers and the military"s failure to dynamite hard rock as promised, while a lack of gravel, murram/laterite, and power shovels is hampering road graveling. The GRB has not supplied drivers/operators with equipment as needed, and there have been continuous difficulties in keeping good, efficient workers on the project. Lessons learned include the need to: firmly establish FFW programs for the life of the project; work out logistical details and provide monitoring in the early stages of prototype projects, not as work progresses; and apply a proper mix of capital and labor. It is recommended to extend the project 1 year to 7/31/84; 22 other recommendations are offered to resolve the projects"s logistical and technical problems and to provide for surveys to determine the project"s socioeconomic impact.