INVESTMENT IN RURAL ROADS: WILLINGNESS-TO-PAY FOR IMPROVED GRAVEL ROAD SERVICE IN FREIGHT TRANSPORTATION

North Dakota, as well as other Great Plains states, relies heavily on agriculture for economic viability. Transport of commodities from farm to market is an important issue and one where research is needed. As funding for rural roads is decreasing, the need for improvements and maintenance of rural roads used for agricultural freight transportation is increasing. The objective of this report is to ascertain information on user willingness-to-pay for improving service on gravel roads and user perceptions of funding for improving freight transportation services, such as road surface, safety and maintenance in rural areas. Data were collected using a survey to ask producers about their perceptions of roads used to haul commodities to market. When asked if they would be willing to pay for improvements to rural roads if it meant higher vehicle weight limits, 34% of respondents said yes. Thirty percent said yes to the willingness-to-pay question regarding improvements to rural roads that would lead to shorter driving distances to market. When asked about willingness-to-pay for pavement of gravel roads, 20% said yes. For improvement to rural road signing 12% said they would be willing to pay more.

Language

  • English

Media Info

  • Media Type: Digital/other
  • Features: Appendices; Figures; References; Tables;
  • Pagination: 35 p.

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 00988082
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Report/Paper Numbers: MPC Report No. 04-168
  • Files: UTC, TRIS
  • Created Date: Mar 18 2005 12:00AM