The Experience of Road Construction and Maintenance in a major agricultural Province - The Experience of Rural Road Construction, Management and Maintenance in Shaanxi Province

Today, rural roads crisscross the land of Shaanxi. From the Loess Plateau in northern Shaanxi to the Qinba Mountain Area in southern Shaanxi, smooth and unobstructed rural roads crisscross each other. Urban residents have moved to the countryside, while rural people have entered cities. Trucks can reach the fields and farmlands directly. Farmers now have convenient transportation conditions for going out to sell goods, see a doctor or go to school. Seeing roads when going out and getting on buses when lifting one's legs have now become a true portrayal of the lives of farmers in Shaanxi. Rural roads have become the biggest highlight of the construction of a new socialist countryside in Shaanxi.

In the past three years, the Shaanxi Provincial Highway Bureau has, in accordance with the relevant spirit of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, The State Council and the Ministry of Transport, as well as the strategic requirements of the Shaanxi Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China and the provincial government to "take rural road construction as a major basic project for the construction of a new socialist countryside", taken the Scientific Outlook on Development as the guiding principle, practiced the new concept of "three services", and placed rural road construction in a prominent position to comprehensively strengthen it. The rural road work has maintained a strong momentum of development that is both good and fast.

The three years from 2006 to 2008 witnessed the fastest development and most remarkable achievements in the history of rural road construction in Shaanxi Province. It achieved leapfrog development, made considerable accomplishments, and also accumulated some valuable experiences and practices.

Emphasize the path: Establish a multi-party participation mechanism to pool powerful synergy

"Building rural roads, this large-scale project that benefits the people, is the shared responsibility of the entire province." " Wang Ping, director of the Shaanxi Provincial Highway Bureau, said, "We have closely relied on the organizational leadership of governments at all levels and the support and cooperation of relevant departments, mobilized positive forces from all aspects, and established a working mechanism featuring government leadership, transportation taking the lead, departmental cooperation, and public participation. This has transformed the development of rural roads from a departmental action to an industry action, and from an industry action to a social action." It has gathered a powerful synergy for accelerated development."

To ensure the healthy and orderly development of rural road construction throughout the province, in line with the deployment of the Ministry of Transport and the actual situation of Shaanxi Province, the Provincial Department of Transportation and the Provincial Highway Bureau have issued a series of policy documents and relevant technical documents for rural road construction, clearly defining technical standards and quality requirements as well as the management responsibility of county-level people's governments to be fully responsible for the project quality. A series of systems and measures were promptly studied and formulated, including the "Measures for the Assessment and Evaluation of Rural Road Construction in Shaanxi Province", the "Measures for the Management of Rural Road Construction in Shaanxi Province", and the "Measures for the Approval of the Construction of Oil Roads (Cement Roads) Connecting Villages in Shaanxi Province" A large number of normative documents, such as the "Notice on Issues Concerning Accelerating the Construction of Oil Roads (Cement Roads) Connecting Villages throughout the Province" and the "Notice on Strengthening the Quality Management of Rural Road Engineering Construction", were issued, which regulated and clarified aspects such as the construction management, planning management, fund management, organization and implementation, subsidy standards, and project acceptance of rural roads one by one. It has promoted the progress of rural road construction throughout the province towards institutionalization and standardization, providing strong policy guidance and institutional guarantee for the comprehensive, rapid and healthy development of rural road construction. While introducing construction policies and strengthening industry guidance, the provincial highway bureau also requires the transportation authorities of each city and county to formulate rural road construction management measures that are in line with the actual conditions of their respective jurisdictions, implement the responsibilities of all levels of management departments, and ensure the smooth completion of construction tasks.

The construction of rural roads is extensive and the tasks are arduous. Over the past three years, the Shaanxi Provincial Highway Bureau has consistently adhered to the principle of overall planning, classified guidance, adapting measures to local conditions, and focusing on practical results. Starting from the actual situation of rural road construction, it has continuously adjusted the structure of rural road construction, steadily advanced the construction of village access roads, and increased investment in the construction of oil roads connecting towns and the renovation of oil roads in counties and towns. In response to the uneven development of rural road construction in Shaanxi Province, the provincial highway bureau has held multiple provincial rural road construction work conferences, using the construction of village access roads to regulate and guide the construction of township access roads and county-township access roads. At the same time, in the planned project arrangement, there is a slight bias towards rural oil roads and county-rural oil roads, encouraging counties (districts) with high construction enthusiasm and strong supporting fund capacity to take the lead in development. Next, the provincial highway bureau will, based on the natural conditions and economic foundations of different regions across the province, in the Guanzhong Plain area where oil roads have been basically connected to every township, in accordance with the requirements of urban-rural integration, focus on the construction of rural road network projects with oil roads (cement roads) to villages as the key point, give full play to the benefits of the rural road network, and enable the Guanzhong region to be the first to achieve rural road network construction. The task of connecting rural oil roads and rural accessibility in the Qinba Mountainous Area of southern Shaanxi and the Loess Plateau of northern Shaanxi is extremely arduous. The provincial highway bureau will, while ensuring the renovation and accessibility of rural oil roads and county and township oil roads first, also plan the construction of village oil roads (cement roads) in a planned manner.

Building good roads: Establish a six-in-one construction quality assurance system

To enhance the management of rural road construction and ensure project quality, the Shaanxi Provincial Highway Bureau has established a six-in-one quality assurance system for rural road construction, which includes government supervision, industry regulation, legal person responsibility, social supervision, enterprise self-inspection, and design monitoring. Meanwhile, during the process of village access road construction and management, the "Shaanxi Province Village Access Road Construction and Management Office" was established, responsible for the overall arrangement, industry management, inspection and supervision, coordination and guidance, acceptance, verification and verification of village access road construction throughout the province. A management measure for the construction of village access roads, which involves "county acceptance, city approval and provincial verification", has been issued. A supervision system for the masses at all levels has been established. A group of respected and responsible veteran Party members, retired cadres and representatives of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and the People's Congress are selected from the villages where the projects are located as representatives of the masses to supervise the quality of the village access road projects. To do this work well, simple construction technology manuals or leaflets were specially printed and distributed to the public, providing them with some simple and easy-to-master folk methods. We paid close attention to the key and weak links in quality control such as the amount of cement used, the amount of lime used, the thickness of the base layer, the thickness of the surface layer, and curing, striving to build each project successfully and satisfy the public. From the practice over the past three years, it can be seen that the implementation of this method has played a very important role in the continuous improvement of the quality of village access roads in Shaanxi Province.

Further standardize the market for village access road construction. The Shaanxi Provincial Highway Bureau requires all levels of transportation authorities to determine construction units through various methods such as public bidding, negotiated bidding, invited bidding or market access under the principle of "fairness, impartiality and transparency", establish a market access system for village roads, and strictly review the personnel, equipment, qualifications, performance and advance funding capabilities of construction units, with a focus on assessing the construction capabilities of construction units. Some units with poor construction performance should be placed on a "blacklist" and expelled from the village road construction market within their jurisdiction.

Establish a testing and inspection system for village access roads at the county level throughout the province. To enhance the testing and inspection work for the construction of village access roads, provide scientific, true and reliable testing and inspection data for the project construction, and control the project quality in a timely manner, the provincial highway bureau requires each county (district) to establish a county-level laboratory for the construction of village access roads, and puts forward specific requirements in four aspects: personnel, equipment, testing environment and management system. After the laboratory is completed, it will be inspected and accepted by the highway engineering quality supervision stations of each city, and qualification certificates will be issued uniformly. For county-level village access road laboratories that pass the acceptance inspection, the provincial Department of Transportation will provide a one-time subsidy of 80,000 yuan. The establishment of the county-level village access road testing and inspection system marks the gradual transformation of rural road construction in Shaanxi Province from experience-based management to scientific management.

Highlight quality control during the process and intensify inspection, supervision and guidance. The Shaanxi Provincial Highway Bureau adopts a combination of daily inspections, semi-annual inspections and year-end inspections. It organizes personnel to conduct targeted inspections on key parts and critical links at different construction stages, and conducts on-site spot checks on project quality. The five inspection teams of the Provincial Office for the Construction and management of village access roads spend an average of more than 25 days each month conducting inspections at the grassroots level. After each inspection, they issue inspection bulletins and notices to the inspected cities and counties, and issue inspection notice sheets to projects with quality issues. They also require each city and county to promptly feedback the handling results and implement responsibilities at all levels. While strengthening inspection and supervision, the provincial authorities have successively held several large-scale meetings such as the "Teleconference on Laying a Solid Foundation for Village Access Roads throughout the Province", the "Teleconference on Rural Road Construction throughout the Province", and the "Teleconference on Rural Road Work throughout the Province". In light of the characteristics of each stage of work, they have planned, step-by-step, and focused efforts to enhance organizational management and intensify business guidance. It has ensured the solid and steady progress of rural road construction

Carry out the "Year of Quality for Rural Roads" campaign in depth. In recent years, in order to ensure the quality of construction projects, the Shaanxi Provincial Highway Bureau has launched a "Quality Review of Village Access Roads" campaign throughout the province at the beginning of each year, requiring transportation authorities at all levels to conduct a "look back" on the quality of village access road construction projects within their jurisdictions. Any quality issues or potential risks discovered should be dealt with promptly to ensure the effectiveness of the village access road construction. In 2008, in accordance with the unified arrangements and deployments of the Ministry of Transport, the Provincial Highway bureau launched the "Rural Road Quality Year" campaign throughout the province. At the beginning of the year, it held a mobilization conference for the "Rural Road Construction Quality Year" campaign throughout the province, established a leading group for the "Rural Road Construction Quality Year" campaign, and formulated and issued the "Implementation Plan for the Rural Road Quality Year Campaign in Shaanxi Province". Clear requirements were put forward for the specific goals, scope of implementation, content requirements, specific measures and time arrangement of the activity. In May 2008, a variety of Quality Year publicity month activities were carried out, creating a favorable atmosphere throughout society where people care about the quality of rural road construction.

Strictly inspect, verify and check, and promptly disburse the provincial subsidy funds. The construction of village access roads in Shaanxi Province follows a "work first, then receive subsidy" policy. Only projects that pass the county acceptance, municipal verification and provincial approval can receive provincial subsidy funds.

Raise funds for rural road construction from multiple sources and strengthen the use and management of funds. Shaanxi Province was the first in the country to sign a provincial-ministerial co-construction agreement with the Ministry of Transport. It actively sought financial subsidies from the Ministry of Transport. The provincial Department of Transport implemented a bank loan of 10 billion yuan for rural road construction. In 2006 and 2007, the central and provincial governments jointly invested 8.5 billion yuan in rural road construction, driving cities and counties to raise 2.3 billion yuan in supporting funds for rural road construction. The cumulative investment reached 10.8 billion yuan, and the investment over two years is equivalent to the total investment during the entire "Tenth Five-Year Plan" period. In the next two years, Shaanxi Province will invest over 20 billion yuan in the construction of rural roads.

While the Shaanxi Provincial Highway Bureau is doing a good job in raising funds, it is also strengthening the supervision of fund usage. Make the usage of funds public to the local people in the project area and voluntarily accept social supervision. At the same time, the "Guiding Opinions on Internal Audit of Funds for Village Access Road Construction" was promptly formulated and issued to strengthen audit supervision and ensure that all funds were fully utilized for the village access road construction project.

Manage the roads well: Implement one responsible entity and establish four mechanisms

With the acceleration of rural road construction throughout the province, the importance of maintenance and management work is increasingly evident. Strengthening highway maintenance, ensuring smooth traffic flow, extending the service life of highways, and maximizing the investment benefits of highways have become major issues at hand. The achievements in rural road construction have not come easily, but the task of consolidating these achievements is even more arduous. Wang Ping said. In the coming period, the development of rural roads will shift from being mainly construction-oriented to a coordinated development of construction, maintenance, management and operation, and from increasing basic supply capacity to comprehensively enhancing service levels. This transformation requires us to build more roads, maintain and manage them well, so that farmers can move from "being able to travel and transport" to "traveling comfortably and being satisfied with transportation".

In 2007, 13 counties (districts) in Shaanxi Province took the lead in completing the pilot work of the reform of rural road management and maintenance system. In 2008, the reform of rural road maintenance and management system was comprehensively advanced throughout the province, with one responsible entity in place and four mechanisms established. This has transformed rural roads from a state of being neglected and abandoned to one where every road is maintained, managed, scientifically maintained and standardized. As a result, the appearance of rural roads has undergone a fundamental change and their traffic capacity has been greatly enhanced. At present, among the 104 counties in the province, 101 have completed the reform of the traffic management institutions and passed the acceptance inspection. With the continuous advancement of the reform of the rural road management and maintenance system, the maintenance level of rural roads in Shaanxi Province is also gradually moving towards institutionalization, standardization and refinement. The achievements of rural road construction have been protected. The rate and mileage of good rural roads have been continuously increasing. We are gradually achieving the goal of ensuring that all roads are managed, managed properly, maintained and maintained in good condition.

Low safety level is a prominent issue in rural road construction, especially in some areas of southern and northern Shaanxi. There is no capacity for matching funds in rural road construction, and only the road surface is built with subsidies from higher authorities. There is a serious lack of supporting facilities such as drainage and safety protection. Since the first half of 2008, the provincial highway bureau has resolutely corrected the practice in some rural road construction areas where only pavement engineering was emphasized while safety protection engineering was neglected. It has regarded the construction of safety protection engineering, safety protection engineering and safety warning signs as the top priorities in rural road construction. First, starting from the design, it is required that security projects must enter the design stage; those that have not entered the design stage are not allowed to commence construction. Secondly, special governance was carried out. Over the past two years, the provincial government has allocated 150 million yuan in special funds to address the safety protection projects of county and township roads. For the village access road project, the provincial highway bureau has specially issued the "Notice on Further Improving Various Facilities of Village Access Roads", putting forward clear requirements in various aspects such as the setting of off-road lanes, intersections, anti-collision walls, anti-collision piers, warning posts, speed bumps and the hardening of road shoulders.

The coming period will be a crucial and challenging time for rural roads in our province to move towards higher goals, as well as a transitional and critical period for them to achieve new leapfrog development. Wang Ping said, "Only by focusing on the overall situation of building a new socialist countryside, guiding scientific development with scientific planning, and promoting new development with new ideas, can the capacity and level of rural roads in serving the construction of new countryside be continuously enhanced."