GIS Analysis of Road Network Accessibility in Rural Nasarawa State

Rural road accessibility remains a fundamental barrier to economic development and social service delivery across many parts of North Central Nigeria. This study analyses road network accessibility in three rural local government areas in Nasarawa State, namely Awe, Doma, and Keana, using GIS network analysis tools. Road data are sourced from the OpenStreetMap platform and validated through field surveys and high-resolution Google Earth imagery. A network dataset is constructed to compute travel time and distance to key service centres including markets, primary health care facilities, and secondary schools. Gravity model analysis estimates the spatial interaction potential between communities and service nodes. Results reveal that over 40 percent of rural settlements in the study area lack all-season road access within a 5-kilometre radius of a major market. Communities in Keana LGA experience the most severe accessibility deficits, owing to the near-absence of paved roads and poor maintenance of earth roads. The study recommends prioritising road rehabilitation along high-demand connectivity corridors identified in the spatial analysis. Outputs are intended to support the Nasarawa State Ministry of Works and Infrastructure in evidence-based road investment planning. Keywords: road accessibility, GIS network analysis, rural roads, Nasarawa, spatial connectivity