The initiatives of ESCAP for the Asian Highway and the Trans-Asian Railway networks can be traced back to the late 1950s and early 1960s. With regard to the Asian Highway, to date, only 32.8 per cent of the network, which spans 142,781 km of roads passing through 32 member States, reaches the two highest categories of road class. A total of 9,176 km, or 7.3 per cent, still needs to be upgraded to meet minimum standards, and the poor quality of several segments is affecting usability.