Abstract

Road transport Infrastructure is fundamental to economic development and poverty reduction. This study analysed the existing road transport infrastructure in rural communities of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria with a view to determining if there was a significant difference in their provision as well as providing a compendium on it to aid efficient policy making. Data on road transport infrastructure in the study area were obtained from field observation and map analysis. Spatial sampling framework was employed as a political map of the State was divided into 930 quadrates (grid cells). To sample the communities, a table of random numbers was applied and 93 (10%) out of 930 spatial units were selected. The result from the study revealed that available road transport infrastructures in rural communities of Akwa Ibom State were grossly inadequate to stimulate socio-economic development in rural settlements. For instance, only one mini motor park and two roundabouts were available in the entire studied communities. Furthermore, a total of 50 (53.76%) communities did not have any length of paved road surface in their communities, while the remaining 43 communities had between 0.1km and 3.4km of their available road surfaces paved To determine if the distribution of road transport infrastructure in the study area was significantly different, 17 road transport infrastructure variables were subjected to Chi-square statistical analysis. The result revealed the Chi-square value of 1368.69 with an associated significance level of .94. However, since the value of .94 is greater than the Alpha value of .05, the null hypothesis which states that ‘the distribution of road transport infrastructure in the study area is not significantly different’ was accepted. Based on the research findings, it is recommended that quality road transport infrastructure should be provided in the area; and such provisions should be tailored to meet the specific needs of the rural populace.