Road projects estimation: A review

The road infrastructure being the backbone of the transport system serves as a connection between the populace. This keeps the economy of the country flowing thereby establishing a crucial constituent of the economic, environmental and social well-being. To understand the approaches to estimating for road projects in the construction industry, this study reviewed extant literature using articles downloaded from SCOPUS database. It was established from extant literature that estimating for construction project is done to ascertain the likely required cost and also to ascertain the likely required time to execute the project. These estimates inform the project team on the financial implications of inputs made to proposed projects, thereby allowing for proper budgeting and cost control depending on the phase of construction. Reviewed literature revealed that categories of construction estimates are preliminary estimates, definitive estimates and detailed estimates while methods of estimating include subjective estimating, parametric estimating, comparative estimating, and analytical estimating. Analytical estimating was adjudged the most accurate of the four methods of estimating. It was therefore concluded that analytical estimating should be adopted for road projects to achieve the desired accuracy.