Article
ANALYSIS ON THE ROAD TRANSPORTATION NETWORKS OF THE AMHARA REGION, ETHIOPIA
DOI: 10.7708/ijtte.2016.6(2).08
6 / 2 / 212-221 Pages
Author(s)
Tsetadirgachew Legesse - Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Adama Science and Technology University, Adama 1888, Ethiopia -
Abstract
The Amhara National Regional State is lying between the Abay and Tekeze rivers with vast territory, endowed with varied climatic regions and different kinds of natural recourses. It is one of the areas of earliest settlement in Ethiopia as a result of which has been experiencing high deterioration of natural resources. The rugged and steep escarpments and the frequently incised topography are making the construction of road transportation very difficult and expensive in financial terms. Moreover, landslides and severely eroded gullies in regions of heavy precipitations have exacerbated the problems to enhance the road network of the area as a result of which it remained far from adequacy for the population of the region. Even today the transport map of the region is most impressive by it bareness. Generally, the overall results of this study indicate that the road network in the Amhara National Regional State is with single connection tree like shape with few extended arms, with the value of Beta index less than 1, Cyclomatic number equals 0, Gamma index between 0-0.42, Alpha index ranging between 0-0.6. These results show that most of the areas in Amhara region are inaccessible and need a long distance travel to access the nearest road. Based on these empirical findings and the reviewed literature, the researcher would like to recommend that the construction of more road networks is imperative in Amhara region taking into account the socio-economic importance of the areas to be connected to the main road system of the country.
Number of downloads: 6323
Keywords:
transportation;
road network;
connectivity;
centrality;
transport indexes;
Amhara region;
Ethiopia;
Acknowledgements:
The author profound thanks and gratitude to Mesay Mlugeta for his encouragement and support.
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