A large share of the worlds’ rural population has limited access to paved roads, and it is widely believed that this constrains rural economic growing opportunities. Using a panel of nighttime lights and road placement data from a large-scale rural road development program (iRoad) in Sri Lanka, this paper examines the relationship between rural road connectivity and local nighttime lights luminosity. It finds that iRoad connection is associated with 12% gains in local nighttime lights at year 2 of post project completion. Further, the study finds that the gains associated with rural roads varies spatially and are most pronounced in areas at medium distance to socioeconomic centers and at the ends of road segments under the iRoad program. These heterogeneities land to the idea that targeted placements considering the beneficiary’s location and synergy with other infrastructures could enhance the effectiveness of rural road investments.

JEL codes: O18, R12, R42, R58