A network-level application of the Roads Economic Decision (RED) model in Nicaragua is presented. The RED model was developed by the World Bank to improve the decision-making process for development and maintenance of low-volume roads. The model adopts the consumer surplus approach to estimate transport benefits and is customized to the characteristics of low-volume roads, such as the high uncertainty in the assessment of the model inputs, the difficulties in characterizing the road condition of unpaved roads, and the need for a comprehensive analysis of generated traffic to clearly define all accrued benefits. The network-level application was designed to define a rational maintenance and improvement program for a network of secondary unpaved roads with particular attention to the alternative of improving the network by surfacing roads with concrete blocks and to include in the decision-making process not only economic considerations but also poverty indicators and priorities perceived by local administrators.
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