Road Impacts from Shale Energy Development
In recent years, new hydraulic fracturing technologies have led to rapid shale oil and gas development. This development has included an unprecedented amount of heavy truck loading on low-volume, rural roads, many of which were not built to withstand such loading. Many highway agencies are concerned about the impact of these loads on the life of their pavements and have had to adapt to this new paradigm by developing polices to protect their infrastructure. Pennsylvania has seen extensive development of the Marcellus shale formation in recent years with significant impact to its road system. New York State has been preparing for future development of their Marcellus shale pending environmental reviews. This paper describes a variety of approaches used in Pennsylvania and New York to keep local roads safe during construction of these energy facilities and to provide fair reimbursement to municipalities for the loss in pavement service life that occurs from these activities. The engineering background is described for methods used to project long-term damage, quantify damage to specific roads, determine needs for pre-development pavement upgrades, and allocate damage costs to multiple users. The advantages and disadvantages of alternative approaches are discussed and provisions for Road Use Agreements are suggested.
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Availability:
- Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/9780784413654
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Supplemental Notes:
- © 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Corporate Authors:
American Society of Civil Engineers
1801 Alexander Bell Drive
Reston, VA United States 20191-4400 -
Authors:
- Wilke, Paul W
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Conference:
- Shale Energy Engineering Conference 2014
- Location: Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, United States
- Date: 2014-7-21 to 2014-7-23
- Publication Date: 2014-5
Language
- English
Media Info
- Media Type: Digital/other
- Features: Figures; Photos; References;
- Pagination: pp 633-642
- Monograph Title: Shale Energy Engineering 2014: Technical Challenges, Environmental Issues, and Public Policy
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Equivalent single axle loads; Heavy vehicles; Overweight loads; Pavement distress; Pavement maintenance; Pavement performance; Shale oil
- Uncontrolled Terms: Shale gas
- Geographic Terms: New York (State); Pennsylvania
- Subject Areas: Highways; Maintenance and Preservation; Pavements; Planning and Forecasting; I61: Equipment and Maintenance Methods; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 01535256
- Record Type: Publication
- ISBN: 9780784413654
- Files: TRIS, ASCE
- Created Date: Aug 27 2014 10:44AM