The Impact of Roads on Rural Development in Katsina-Ala, Logo and Ukum Local Government Areas of Benue State-Nigeria (Published)
The main focus of this study is to assess the impact of roads on rural development in Katsina-Ala, Logo and Ukum local government areas of Benue state. The study has shown that rural roads play crucial role in socio-economic development of rural areas. It has particularly shown that rural roads enhance accessibility to markets and accessibility of population through cheap transport costs. Roads also create link between rural and urban areas thereby creating attractive prices for producers, lower losses of produce, and lower prices for consumers. It has therefore recommended that both the federal, state and local governments should make the construction and rehabilitation of rural roads a priority in their developmental agenda. Construction of roads and the rehabilitation of existing ones will reduce the cost of transporting goods and passengers. Local governments should be empowered to open up new roads to facilitate the transportation of goods to the markets at reduced costs. The provision of rural roads will improve the income of the rural dwellers. The provision of roads to link rural areas with urban centres will reduce the rate of post-harvest losses.