A Review of Highway Agencies in the South Asia Region

A Review of Highway Agencies in the South Asia Region
Network Development, Maintenance and Operations
Network development relates to the extension and upgrading of the road network. Whilst
the SRA was responsible for the planning of these activities, all work (design, construction,
supervision, and so on) was contracted out to the private sector.
Operation means short-term measures that mainly aim to keep a road open to traffic, such
as winter road maintenance, cleaning road signs and maintaining rest areas. Maintenance
relates to measures to ensure the durability of the road network. These include paving work,
bridge repair, drainage work and replacing damaged road signs. These are also contracted to
private sector companies (see also section on procurement). SRA had specified an operations
and maintenance standard for the state road network, based on the planning parameters of
the Government’s National Road Transport Plan. This plan contains the requirement that the
standard should be achieved at the lowest road maintenance costs. As a consequence, SRA
asked its contractors to realize an increase in efficiency of 1 percent per year.
The SRA was responsible for the planning and management of the procurement process
with the overall responsibility for the results. Since 2004, the SRA, in accordance with
long-term plans, prioritized operation measures mainly at the expense of surfaced road
maintenance. This means resources are primarily invested in operation and maintenance
received the remaining resources.
Traffic Management
The Road Traffic Management unit in SRA monitored traffic, informed and assisted road users,
and controlled and managed traffic based on knowledge of the current traffic situation. Traffic
control centers and traffic information centers have been established during the last 10 years.
The unit’s nationwide traffic management centers act as hubs for its operations. The traffic
management centers are manned round-the-clock every day of the year.
The traffic management centers are informed in the event of a traffic incident, in part
quickly to solve the traffic situation, and also to forward accurate information to various
target groups. Data are collected from a number of sources (emergency services, road users,
cameras, detectors, contractors, weather stations) to control traffic (via electronic signs and
barriers) and provide relevant information to police and emergency services and road users
via mobile message boards, internet and mobile phone services, radio and television.
Licensing and Registration
Licensing and registration activities were previously not part of SRA activities but,
in the new institutional set up under the STA, these have become the responsibility of STA.
Its Traffic Registry Department administers and develops the road traffic registry, which
supplies society with information about vehicles, driving licenses and commercial transport.
The Road Traffic Department formulates regulations and grants permits while exercising
supervision within the field of road transport over, for example, road traffic, vehicles, driving
licenses and commercial transport.
Road Safety Management
STA is committed to following road safety guidelines set in Vision Zero. Vision Zero is based
on three principles:
Ethics: Human life and health are paramount and take priority over mobility and other
objectives of the road traffic system;
Responsibility: Providers and regulators of the road traffic system share responsibility
with users; and
Safety: Road traffic systems should take account of human fallibility and minimize both
the opportunities for errors and the harm done when they occur.
Mechanisms for change: Providers and regulators must do their utmost to guarantee the
safety of all citizens; they must cooperate with road users and all three must be ready to
change to achieve safety.
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