CONSTRUCTION OF FARM-TO-MARKET CONCRETE ROADS IN GUIPUZCOA, SPAIN

The historical territory of Guipuzcoa, which belongs to the Basque Autonomous Community, is uniquely characterized by its rural settlements, the so-called caserios, which are small family farms that perform a great deal of the agricultural activity in this Spanish province. Most of the caserios are located on the mountainsides, because a great part of the narrow valleys, where the population in Guipuzcoa has devaloped, is occupied by industries and urban centers. Rural settlements are consequently scattered in isolated farmsteads or small hamlets to which access is difficult. In 1982, the Basque Autonomous Community Government and Guipuzcoan authorities therefore established a Plan for Rural Infrastructure Improvement, including technical aid and financial support for the construction or rehabilitation of rural roads. As part of this plan about 600 km of these roads were surfaced between 1982 and 1985, which represents about 50 percent of the total existing network. Both rigid and flexible pavements were used in road construction. Asphalt pavements are always constructed by contractors, but a traditional procedure of communal work is employed to construct concrete roads. This procedure is callled "auzolan" in Basque, which means unpaid work performed to fulfill communal needs. Reductions in constructon costs of over 20 percent have been achieved through the use of the auzolan work organization. Maintenance costs are also lower when compared with those of flexible pavements, because any repairs that are needed are normally performed by the farmers themselves. Therefore, the number of municipal authorities that are choosing to build concrete roads is steadily increasing.

• Record URL:
  • http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trr/1987/1106v2/1106v2-035.pdf
• Record URL:
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• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper appeared in Transportation Research Record N1106, Fourth International Conference on Low-Volume Roads, Volume 2. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved
• Authors:
  • Jofré, Carlos
  • Josa, Alejandro
  • Ascasibar, Jorge
  • Ma Losa, José
• Conference:
  • International Conference on Low Volume Roads, 4th, 1987, Ithaca, New York, USA
• Publication Date: 1987-8

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Photos; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 298-300
• Monograph Title: FOURTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON LOW-VOLUME ROADS. VOLUME 2
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record
  • Issue Number: 1106
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0361-1981

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Concrete pavements; Construction; Construction management; Costs; Driver rehabilitation; Low volume roads; Maintenance management; Mountains; Road construction; Rural highways
• Uncontrolled Terms: Construction costs; Maintenance costs; Rehabilitation
• Geographic Terms: Spain
• Old TRIS Terms: Communal labor; Low cost road construction
• Subject Areas: Construction; Finance; Highways; Maintenance and Preservation; I52: Construction of Pavements and Surfacings; I61: Equipment and Maintenance Methods;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00473161
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0309044545
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Sep 30 1987 12:00AM