Roads are NOT going to be built in any kind of efficient way without public funding.  Surely, there may be better ways to go about accomplishing the same objectives, but roads are within the community desires about the solution.  If you want another solution, besides roads, you have to convince the community to move in that direction.  In your rural Tennessee example, that is converting to a less rural existence, the community seems to have decided that it wants more roads.... b/c they see that as the solution to the issue of having more people in the area.