Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Socioeconomic Impact Assessment of Highway Drainage Outlet Erosion, Case Study of Mekelle to Adigrat Highway, Tigray, Ethiopia

Abstract

Dawit Hadera and Bizuneh Asfaw

Roads are backbones for one’s country economy and play great role in public’s mobility. To make these well function proper drainage systems must have; and these drainages are major causes for land degradation and gully formation. This assessment was conducted in selected road drainage (bridges, culverts and side channels) of Mekelle to Adigrat 113 Km road. The study focuses types, causes, impact of road drainage erosion, and government attentions to protect erosions and possible remedial measures by selecting 60 farmers which are 26.67% of the total population in the study area (225) randomly downstream of the road; 17 DAs selected based on their profession of 4 Woreda experts. Major findings from the socioeconomic assessment using interviewing and field survey are 1) There are three types of erosions (splash and sheet, rill, and gully) but most common is gullying in 87 culverts (44.39%) 2) Major causes of gully from interview of experts are: 38.81% lack of conservation works upstream and downstream of the structure, 14.93% design problem and lack of appropriate energy dissipaters, 20.90% improper land use practices.