Improvement Recommendations For Unpaved Roads

As part of a pilot asset management program for three Wyoming Counties, the Wyoming Technology Transfer Center developed a method for recommending surfacing and drainage improvements to unpaved roads. Based on current surface and drainage conditions and the costs of performing upgrades, a list of unpaved roads in need of improvement is generated along with the costs of these upgrades. Road surface and drainage conditions were evaluated with ‘windshield’ surveys using the Wisconsin Pavement Surface Evaluation and Rating (PASER) method. Roads with inadequate surface quality for their functional class are selected for improvement. An improvement-type decision matrix with functional class and distress conditions as inputs was developed. This matrix is used to select appropriate improvement activities. The methodology developed in this study was applied in the three counties included in this pilot study. The recommended improvement lists generated using this method have been used both to assist with prioritizing county road and bridge activities and to present policy makers with reasonable assessments of each county’s road network’s improvement needs. Other counties and local agencies can easily apply the methodology developed in this paper after adjusting the decision matrix and activity costs to reflect their local conditions.