What would you suggest is a cheap alternative to a tar road in countries like India or continents like Africa?

Question

Taking this as a people's project that is self-financed, what do you recommend? Not talking about highways here, just streets and residential area roads, enough for light traffic.

Answer 1

Gold and solid diamond dividers. Or you could super compact the dirt with heavy rollers, that would also work and they could rent them on the cheap.  

Answer 2

One alternative is using calcined lime (calcium oxide, CaO).

http://www.lime.org/ENV02/Construction80...

Another is cement treated base rock.

http://www.cement.org/pavements/

Two common dust suppressants are Calcium chloride and magnesium chloride.

These are all typical road stabilization techniques.  One other that had been used before we became more aware of the impacts was oil.  There was a period in time, up to the 1970's when various types of waste oil was used to stabilize road beds.  This seems to have ended, at least in the US, with the issue of the run off from these roads contaminating receiving waters.

Answer 3

Fine gravel?

Answer 4

Motoman, I voted you for best answer.

I worked in a sugar factory in Africa and we used calcite stones and used oil to stabilize roads.

Answer 5

dust roads or stone roads

Answer 6

I'll wager the locals have a source of something from their area. If I told you to use cleachie, a native limestone that outcrops all over west texas, how would that help?  You are not going to load it up and ship half way around the world are you?

There are formations with limestone included that everywhere, you need a local geologist to answer your question.

Answer 7

ok first i think if you would like to produce roads you should really look towards sponsors and then look at your project or try fundraising. besides you need authority to do this, also you need a epa, person on where you're gonna build roads otherwise you willl be fined.