Environmentally Sensitive Road Maintenance Practices for Dirt and Gravel Roads

Over 1.6 million miles of dirt and gravel roads exist within the United States providing a vital part of the nation’s transportation system. Roads crisscross mountains, flat lands, and valleys intercepting streams, meadows, and riparian areas. The ecological effect a road has on the surrounding environment varies greatly depending on location, design, and maintenance. Roads can adversely affect the surrounding environment through erosion, and increased sediment delivery to streams, meadows, and riparian areas. Roads can intercept subsurface flows; increase hillslope drainage density through ditch lines and relief culverts; and create diversion potential at stream crossings. An environmentally sensitive road maintenance practice is a practice that when implemented reduces the adverse effect of a road on the environment by treating the cause of the problem and is in keeping with the natural landscape. The goal of this field guide is to provide examples of environmentally sensitive maintenance practices, which if implemented reduce erosion and sediment, maintain subsurface hydrologic connectivity, restore drainage density to more natural conditions, and eliminate diversion potential. Additionally environmentally sensitive maintenance practices reduce long term maintenance costs and lengthen maintenance cycles. To achieve this goal, the Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Pennsylvania State University’s Center for Dirt and Gravel Roads, have established a simple protocol to help road managers and maintenance practitioners to: carefully assess road conditions; identify problems; determine cause; and select the appropriate environmentally sensitive practices that fit the site conditions. This field guide is organized to identify visual signs of problems associated with CAUSES and SOLUTIONS for the most commonly encountered road problems. The Keys Section guides the users to specific practices with the guide that is grouped according to the type of problem (road surface, ditch, cutbank, etc). Additional references and links to other useful guides are included in chapter 10.

• Record URL:
  http://www.fs.fed.us/t-d/pubs/pdf/11771802.pdf
• 
• Corporate Authors:

  Pennsylvania State University, University Park

  Center for Dirt and Gravel Road Studies
  University Park, PA  United States  16802

  Forest Service

  Independence Avenue, Between 12th and 14th Streets, NW
  Washington, DC    20250
• Authors:
  • Bloser, Steve
  • Creamer, Dave
  • Napper, Carolyn
  • Scheetz, Barry
  • Ziegler, Tim
• Publication Date: 2012-4

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Edition: Field Guide
• Features: Figures; Photos; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 136p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Earth roads; Ecology; Environmental impacts; Gravel roads; Handbooks; Highway maintenance; Hydrology; Maintenance practices
• Geographic Terms: United States
• Subject Areas: Environment; Highways; Hydraulics and Hydrology; Maintenance and Preservation; I15: Environment; I61: Equipment and Maintenance Methods;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01527891
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 1177 1802—SDTDC
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jun 9 2014 9:43AM