Keeping Africa moving in a changing climate

Durham's engineers are working with partners in Africa to find ways to use cheaper and more sustainable local materials to build all-weather, low-traffic roads and railway lines. This is important because poor transport is one of the main barriers to investment and growth in Africa. Trade & mobility Good roads provide a lifeline for people in rural areas for trade, mobility and access to education and health services. This helps to reduce poverty and improve the livelihoods of people living in these areas. Our researchers are looking at how locally available soil materials can be used successfully in road and rail construction. However, these local materials are more sensitive to water movement than those traditionally used to build roads or railbeds that lie underneath railway tracks. This means our research has to identify how these materials react when they get wet or dry out and which are suitable for use in a changing climate.