A Critical Analysis of Factors Affecting Performance of Gravel Road Projects Maintenance Management Strategies in Tanzania

Effective maintenance management strategies are essential for improving the performance of gravel road maintenance projects in Tanzania. However, many of these projects face challenges that compromise their economic viability, such as inadequate monitoring, poor assessment of maintenance needs and interventions, and failure to meet expected performance outcomes, often resulting in reduced user satisfaction. To address these issues, it is crucial to identify and evaluate the key factors influencing gravel road maintenance management strategies that significantly affect overall project performance. This study investigates these factors using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). The analysis identified engaging environmental considerations and community needs (IM5) as the most critical factor, followed by maintaining proper road inventory records (IM2), both under the integrity management (IM) strategy, which emerged as the most influential maintenance management strategy. Furthermore, cost considerations were the most prominent hard performance measures, with key indicators including adequate fund allocation based on actual maintenance needs (C5) and accurate budget estimates based on road condition survey reports (C2). For soft performance measures, the social and relational dimension (R) had the greatest impact, driven by indicators such as overall user and stakeholder satisfaction (R3) and adherence to health and road safety measures (R2). In conclusion, this study offers valuable insights into the critical factors that enhance the performance of gravel road maintenance management strategies in Tanzania and other regions facing similar challenges. It is recommended that policymakers integrate these influential factors into maintenance management frameworks to achieve better outcomes in gravel road maintenance projects.