Implementation Guide for the Management of Unsealed Gravel Roads

To address the current lack of a gravel roads management system (GRMS) appropriate for the rural agencies of the Intermountain West and the Great Plains, the Wyoming Technology Transfer Center (T2/LTAP) consulted with a volunteer group of experts and practitioners in the fields of unsealed earth and gravel roads and roadway management to put together a set of recommendations and guidelines for managing unsealed roads. This paper describes and summarizes the gravel roads management methodology developed by T2/LTAP under the guidance of this group. Steps in implementing a GRMS are described, beginning with an assessment stage in which an agency evaluates its current unsealed roads information management and the resources available to improve it. Next, three elements of a GRMS are described: data management, inventory, and data collection. Eight maintenance tasks for unsealed roads are described: blading, reshaping, regraveling, dust control, stabilization, isolated repairs, major work, and drainage maintenance. Primary outputs of a GRMS are described, including cyclic maintenance scheduling, triggered maintenance scheduling, and network-level outputs, including network-level monitoring, financial tables, and road tables and maps. Safety and drainage assessments are described briefly. Recommendations are made for putting these procedures into practice.